Improving University Students’ Entrepreneurial Knowledge and Skills

Abstract

Entrepreneurship oriented education would help university graduates find a job or start a new career. That is why universities try to manage entrepreneurship education in order to improve entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of students. In Iran, universities focused on entrepreneurship education during last decades. The main purpose of this article was to investigate how universities can play an effective role in entrepreneurial education in order to improve entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of their students. In this survey, a group of 110 academics out of an access population (N=382) of Bu-Ali Sina academic staff (Hamedan province, IRAN) were randomly selected. A questionnaire was designed and then validated asking a panel of experts for their comments. Reliability of the instrument calculated to be 0.90 in alpha Cronbach's scale. Results of the enquiry indicated that cooperation of universities with other local organizations (like outreach programs), elaborately directed apprenticeship courses, up-to-date educational content (in response to cutting edge technologies) and use of creativity-focused methods of teaching were mentioned to be the most effective ways for enhancing entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of students. Based on exploratory factor analysis, a number of activities such as informing and motivating toward entrepreneurship, career education and Curriculum revitalization proved to be the most influential factors for improving students' entrepreneurship knowledge and skills. At the End, some recommendation was introduced for universities in planning and implementing entrepreneurship education program.