Can Entrepreneurship Education Address Educational Asymmetry in Rural Communities Hosting Displaced People?

The arrival of highly educated displaced people in rural communities can expose a paradox. Newcomers may struggle to use their qualifications, while residents’ local knowledge and networks remain disconnected from that expertise. This article conceptualises the problem as educational asymmetry and examines how community-embedded entrepreneurship education might address it. The argument draws on accounts from 33 displaced Ukrainians across several host countries and an exploratory study of a residents-only entrepreneurship course in Sardinia. Ukrainian participants described barriers to professional recognition and institutional access. In Sardinia, dialogue and transparency received more favourable ratings than influence. End-of-course respondents rated collaboration less favourably than baseline respondents. The article proposes entrepreneurship education as a potential conversion infrastructure linking complementary resources through shared territorial projects. Such a role requires meaningful participation, institutional brokerage, and opportunities to implement joint ideas. The framework extends beyond Ukraine, but neither study tested mixed-cohort education.