Entrepreneurial education in emerging countries: how to keep abreast with global competitive needs

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is considered to be the driving force and generator of economic and social development worldwide. Entrepreneurship is a kind of expression of creativity and innovation while Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of any economy. So entrepreneurial skills are moving the world today, creating new jobs, more humane social progress and economic growth. But what the entrepreneurial developed world has been analyzing, promoting and applying for more than 300 years, the emerging countries have been developing and institutionalizing for barely 30 years. To overcome such a time and institutional gap, universities must keep abreast of business and entrepreneurial needs and be forced to use their entire intellectual and academic “arsenal” of instruments to help young people with innovative knowledge and practice to “instill” the entrepreneurial mindset. Otherwise, a mass exodus of highly skilled individuals arguably will weaken local knowledge networks and will reduce social welfare (hence, brain drain or white plague). This paper aims to explore the real possibilities and practices in reformed entrepreneurship education in emerging countries to meet the global competitive needs.