The role of creative and cultural industries (CCI) in the countries with developed economies is not restricted merely to activities within culture and art and the protection and promotion of cultural and historical heritage, but seems to be transforming into a powerful driver of transformations in national economies. In its regular reports during last decades, UNESCO recognizes CCI as a part of the fastest growing revenues generating sector providing opportunities for the employment of especially young people. Having detected this trend, in 2015 Croatia conducted its first CCI mapping in order to structure and quantify their scope and to identify their possible impact on further economic growth. In the process of linking potentials of CCI market with the existing higher education system that prepares young people for CCI professions, there is a growing gap between the adjustments of learning outcomes and the challenging current demand on the labour market. The effectiveness of critical thinking and problem solving, cultural awareness and continued upgrading of social, emotional and interpersonal skills - these are the learning outcomes with increasing importance that enable individuals to get integrated as active stakeholders in the development of economy and society as a whole. The educational system is expected to encourage also their entrepreneurial potentials, helping them to identify their existing, but also to additionally develop new entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, so that young educated people may successfully assume the responsibility for their own future. Entrepreneurial courses in higher education institutions offering young people study programmes for future CCI professions is a relatively unexplored area, which opens additional possibilities for improvement in their curricula, with the aim to align them with the current market demands. Pointing at the potential of CCI in Croatia and aiming at bridging the currently low share of entrepreneurial courses in the curricula in their study programs, the aim of this doctoral thesis is to propose a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial education that respects the existing level of students' entrepreneurial competences and encourages their interest in entrepreneurial education and future entrepreneurial intentions.The proposed conceptual framework of entrepreneurial education has been developed on the basis of the results of previous scientific research in the field of entrepreneurship education within the CCI, and through empirical research covering all relevant CCI stakeholders. Besides 293 senior year students of art academies and other similar higher education institutions educating future employees at CCI, the sample includes also 11 vice-deans for academic affairs and 11 already established entrepreneurs/freelancers within CCI. The obtained results show that despite the existence of different levels of expressions of entrepreneurial competences and entrepreneurial intentions, there is a positive attitude and interest among students for participation in entrepreneurship education. Support for their students is expressed also by the responsible persons within the higher education institutions in charge of creating and approving new study programs, as well as established entrepreneurs within CCI, through their interest in actively participating in the implementation of entrepreneurship education. The recommendation of this doctoral thesis is aimed at the introduction of a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial education which, along with ICT support and the support of the already established entrepreneurs/freelancers in the CCI area, is not only complementary with the existing curricula, but also extends them into the area of lifelong learning. So, the proposed conceptual framework of entrepreneurial education provides an additional impetus in the implementation of changes in the curricula of higher education institutions that in this way will produce competent, creative and enterprising young people, regardless whether later in their career they will decide to become independent entrepreneurs or enterprising employees within CCI.