Design thinking in entrepreneurship education: Post-2020 evidence for industry and higher education futures

Design thinking is increasingly used in entrepreneurship education as a human-centred, experiment-driven pedagogy for navigating uncertainty and innovation. However, evidence remains fragmented across contexts, outcomes, and pedagogical implementations. Guided by PRISMA 2020, this systematic review synthesises post-2020 empirical and conceptual studies indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. Following inclusion, exclusion, and quality appraisal, 18 peer-reviewed journal articles were retained for integrative thematic synthesis. Four themes emerged: sustainability and social-impact entrepreneurship learning; measured learning and psychological outcomes; digital, gamified, and platform-mediated learning; and programme and ecosystem design linking universities, communities, and industry. Across themes, design thinking was associated with opportunity recognition, creativity, experiential engagement, and competency development, while evidence concerning self-efficacy and longer-term entrepreneurial behaviour was heterogeneous. Overall, the evidence suggests that design thinking may offer greater educational value when integrating authentic problem discovery, iterative experimentation, reflective feedback, mentoring, and institutional support.