The role of entrepreneurship education on student entrepreneurship development at the University of Venda

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is recognised as a tool to reduce unemployment, poverty, and other socio-economic challenges facing South Africa. To respond to these challenges, higher education institutions in South Africa have implemented entrepreneurship courses, training programmes and competitions to promote student entrepreneurship development. Entrepreneurship education encourages individuals to start their businesses upon graduation, rather than seeking and relying on employment. However, research on the role of entrepreneurship education is limited. Hence, this study aims to investigate the role of entrepreneurship education on student entrepreneurial development, at the University of Venda. This study utilised qualitative research design to achieve the following objectives: to identify the factors of entrepreneurship education that contribute to student entrepreneurship development; to identify the challenges of entrepreneurship education that hinders student entrepreneurship development and to develop strategies to enhance entrepreneurship development to better support student entrepreneurship development. The targeted population comprised University of Venda student-entrepreneurs who participate in entrepreneurship education programmes, and those who are registered for entrepreneurship courses. A convenience sampling technique was used to select 10 students and data was collected through semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews according to the research objectives. The collected data was analysed thematically using Atlas.ti version 8.4. The analysed data answered the research questions in-line with - the factors of entrepreneurship education that contribute to student start-ups; the challenges of EE that hinder student entrepreneurship development, as well as strategies to improve entrepreneurship education. The results revealed that some of the benefits of entrepreneurship education are - students gained entrepreneurial skills, mindset, and access to resources through entrepreneurship programs, however, challenges arose due to the course focusing more on theory than practical learning. The recommendations made include the suggestion that the University of Venda should collaborate with private companies and government to create internship opportunities for entrepreneurship students to gain hands-on experience. This study is among the first to have managed to identify the beneficial factors of entrepreneurship education; the challenges, and the strategies to enhance entrepreneurship education. This study was conducted at the University of Venda which means the results may not be generalised in other universities. The researcher, however, further recommends that similar studies can be conducted in other universities to find out any similarities or differences in the conclusions, thereby enlarging the literature on the topic.