Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset : an enquiry whether University experience imparts entrepreneurial competencies amongst students

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is perceived as an important driver of economic growth and social development throughout the world. Newly forged entrepreneurial ventures make significant contributions to economic growth both directly and also by stimulating their more established competitors. This realisation has resulted in a resurgence in interest in the study of entrepreneurship and its subsequent economic underpinnings. This study explored the role tertiary education plays in imparting entrepreneurial competencies among final year undergraduate students. These entrepreneurial competencies were categorised into six groups, namely, opportunity, relationship, conceptual, organising, strategic and commitment, and were derived from a study by Man, Lau and Chan (2002). In order to contextually validate this list of competencies three interviews with local entrepreneurs were carried out. Furthermore this study sought to explore whether the courses offered at the University of Malta fostered and entrepreneurial mindset among its students. The results indicated that these competencies are not being effectively addressed, with little to no practical element supporting the academic component of the courses on offer. Consequently this shortcoming implied that the participants lacked the skills required to apply the theory they had learnt to real world situations, thereby thwarting the development of their entrepreneurial mindset.