IMR JAN 2013 - Indira Institutes

Unlocking Entrepreneurial Capabilitiestransfer capabilities and extended theirteaching from educating individuals toshaping organizations throughentrepreneurial education and incubation(Etzkowitz and Zhou 2008). Formal degreesin entrepreneurship studies are typicallyhosted by a business school/faculty toprovide a mix of theoretical grounding inbusiness management as well as training inpractical aspects of entrepreneurship. Oneinitial measure to increase the level ofentrepreneurship skills teaching would be tomake relevant learning outcomes moreexplicit and to contextualize them in respectto employability and entrepreneurship(Frank 2007).WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIPEDUCATION ?Entrepreneurship education can be definedas the purposeful intervention by aneducator in the life of the learner to impartentrepreneurial qualities and skills to enablethe learner to survive in the world ofbusiness. Alberti, Sciascia and Poli (2004)define entrepreneurship education as thestructured formal conveyance ofentrepreneurial competencies, which in turnrefers to the concepts, skills and mentalawareness used by individuals during theprocess of starting and developing theirgrowth oriented ventures.Entrepreneurship education aimstopromote creativity, innovation and selfemployment.It is therefore agreed that existing activitiesand programmes qualify aseducation forentrepreneurship if they include at least twoof the following elements:a) Developing those personal attributes andgenerally applicable (horizontal) skills thatform the basis of an entrepreneurial mindsetand behavior.b) Raising students' awareness of selfemploymentand entrepreneurship aspossible career options.c) Work on practical enterprise projects andactivities, for instance students running minicompanies.d) Providing specific business skills andknowledge of how to start and successfullyrun a company.Entrepreneurial programmes and modulesoffer students the tools to think creatively, tobe an effective problem solver, to analyze abusiness idea objectively and tocommunicate, network, lead and evaluate anygiven project. Students feel more confidentabout setting up their own businesses if theycan test their ideas in an educational,supportive environment. However, thebenefits of entrepreneurship education arenot limited to boosting start-ups, innovativeventures and new jobs. Entrepreneurship is acompetence for everyone, helping youngpeople to be more creative and self-confidentin whatever they undertake.ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ANDECONOMIC GROWTH:The education system plays a critical role inthe economic advancement of the nationsince it is the primary developer of humanresources, almost all growth theory modelsrecognize that the quality of human resourceand thereby the quality of education is vital tothe economic growth process. However thecurrent education globally and especially indeveloping economies leaves much to bedesired. Entrepreneurship education canaddress some of the deficiencies in theexisting education system. The developmentIndira Management Review - Jan 2013 85