Are engineers becoming more enterprising? A study of the potentials of entrepreneurship education

Abstract

Many of the UK's professional engineering institutes, and education generally, promote the development of enterprise skills: enterprise ability is considered appropriate for the modern economy graduates will operate in; and enterprise should increase levels of innovation, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in the engineering professions, thus contributing to competitiveness. The current paper draws from a study of enterprise education in three universities, and looks specifically at engineering students. The paper compares perceptions, expectations and enterprise skills development amongst engineering and non-engineering students. The study finds that many engineering students do aim to start firms but this tends to be cited as later than that reported by other students. Engineering students also understand that enterprise skills are relevant to employment and personal development. However, perceptions of enterprise skills development are less common than for other students. This is likely to be because engineering students tend to report they have many enterprise skills anyway

Comparing Entrepreneurship Intention: A Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling Approach

“…Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the aims of many students after completing their study (Ekpoh and Edet, 2011;Pihie, 2009;Galloway et al, 2006;Peterman and Kennedy, 2003). This is because becoming entrepreneurs offer several advantages, such as having greater financial rewards, self-fulfillment, independent, and other desirable outcomes (Gilad and Levine, 1983 cited by Segal et al, 2005).…”

“…Business students have a more positive attitude and they have stronger intention since the beginning that they will become a part of business or industry. On the other hand, students from non-business majors, such as science or engineering students will have a less positive attitude and intention to becoming an entrepreneur than business students (Galloway et al, 2006). Therefore, it can be stated that…”

“…Entrepreneurship has become one of the main options for students when they graduate (Ekpoh and Edet, 2011;Pihie, 2009;Galloway et al, 2006;Peterman and Kennedy, 2003). This is because entrepreneurship offers major benefits, such as setting up one's own business and the possibility of having significant financial rewards than working for others.…”

Análise multicritério em dados sobre empreendedorismo: um estudo bibliométrico

“…Segundo um estudo realizado por Galloway et al (2006) no Reino Unido, o empreendedorismo tem um efeito positivo para os estudantes de engenharia, além de aumentar os níveis de inovação nas empresas, contribuindo assim para aumentar a competitividade. Na última década, o número de programas de empreendedorismo nas universidades destinados aos estudantes de engenharia tem crescido substancialmente.…”

Using toolkits to achieve STEM enterprise learning outcomes

“…There is an increasingly strong presence of enterprise in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects (Arlett et al, 2010;Galloway et al, 2006). At Newcastle one purpose of developing enterprise education for STEM students is to address major challenges in society, namely ageing and health, sustainability and social renewal (Newcastle University Societal Challenge Themes, 2011).…”