There is a place for everybody in the world, and the curriculums and environments of our colleges and universities should reflect this.
One career platform that has picked up a lot of traction as a viable and fulfilling career trajectory in recent decades, is that of becoming an entrepreneur. It encompasses so much potential, a plethora of options, and most of all, represents creativity, personal innovation, and independence, to name but three.
So, educational juggernauts everywhere should encourage the students who this sets off a fire inside, to pursue it. This article will discuss 6 ideas that can be used to encourage student entrepreneurship in educational environments.
It’s For Inspiration
Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. There are endless ways that one can apply a trade that matches their passions and skills. Ultimately, implementations such as these are there to inspire people. Who knows what ideas they will touch off in people?
The importance of encouraging students to follow their dreams and passions can’t be understated. Those who know what they want to do with their lives have won the lottery. Because let’s face it, many don’t. Even if the entrepreneurs change their goals in the future, following a path diligently can open many doors, and arm students with a host of transferable skills, and this is why it is important to encourage entrepreneurship as much as any other career trajectory.
Plus, is there any place more freeing and capable of inspiring drive, commitment and life goals than a college or a university? In a place that is full of capable tutors imparting expertise and professional experience on their students, with the luxury of twenty-four seven access to libraries, and most of all, time to think and generate their goals in a productive environment, there is no better place to ignite that fuse. Many institutions will already have or have had some of the following ideas going, but adding them to the institution will encourage the entrepreneurial students to build on their instincts and potentially follow a path in this direction, and in the short term, engage with their course that much more fiercely.
Build A Business Hub
Integrating social environments where students can meet up, talk about, and host events to do with their chosen field is the best way to promote engagement with it. Having a particular drive is one thing, but when like minded people are around you, and you are free to to talk through your ideas, and exude your personality, you are in the money. Many positive results come with this, and having a community around you is only one of them.
Yes, not only does this create a social environment for students to bond in, but also a sense of solidarity that you don’t get when you are alone with an idea. Furthermore, discussions in a laid back environment can lead to the sharing of ideas, causes students to inspire one another, and fuels their motivations even further. In the long term, it can lead to business collaboration between students; those who share a similar idea, or work well together often do go into business together.
Furthermore, it gives students a more solid sense of what business they want to generate later on; or not, as the case may be, but even this has a great deal of value because it helps them to refine the steering of their ship - having learned more about themselves and their aspirations.
Host Relevant Events
The next step would be to set up some lectures and seminars tailored towards business topics, such as how to create a business plan, or how to implement a particular idea. Regardless of whether these happen annually, or every month, they are important to assure business-minded students that their university or college supports their career decisions. This will become relevant again in the point about resources and reading materials, as it is important for morale.
Furthermore, it is also useful to host events or even plan trips to relevant events such as business development festivals, as these provide students with the opportunity to network with professionals and experience first hand what entrepreneurs in 2022 and beyond are creating and selling.
Hire Professionals to Talk in Lectures
Nothing beats a convenient opportunity to sit in a room with a notepad and listen to a professional talk about their craft, and how they have managed to apply that trade in the business world. If your college or university can make an event like this happen, then those who are interested in this particular career drive will be inspired.
What’s more, industry professionals have stories to tell. Dramatic tales, inspiring narratives even, and it is always good to imbue your students with these. It gets them talking, thinking, and then eventually, acting on their motivations.
The professionals you hire will help the students to better comprehend the difficulties and victories of starting and pursuing a business of their own. Making it so that this information is freely available to them so that they can work around their schedules and commitments is equally important, and educational places are usually wonderful in this regard. You could even consider putting together a board of experienced industry professionals to serve advisory and supporting services, which will give the students that extra boost.
Make Entrepreneurship An Integral Part of the Careers Advice Faculty
Every College and University has a careers advice team, and often, the staff working in this department have specific expertise to give. If you can implement entrepreneurship into that, then students who have a flair for business will have it at their disposal, to learn, take advice or simply make it part of their conversation.
Moreover, it is important to make sure that the staff are fully aware of this information, so that they can impart professionally informed advice onto the students who seek it. Sometimes, careers advice departments can provide you with a general idea of a topic, but rarely are they well-versed in a specific career path. Upgrading the advice available is a great way to give students that extra nudge in the right direction. Their direction.
Because sometimes, people have great ideas or career aspirations, but they don’t have the opportunity to talk about it. Create an environment where they can, you create the optimal environment where their ideas can flourish and turn into future plans.
Offer Relevant Reading Material & Resources
As important and helpful as the social side of things is, along with the opportunity to plan a business with their tutors and careers advice team, so is providing the resources for students to study independently. With that said, having the appropriate reading materials and extracurricular resources available in your libraries is paramount to encouragement.
Having these available isn’t just about providing the students with the right material, but also about letting them know that you have their backs, and that the knowledge is all there if they need it. Imagine a university library that didn’t have a subsection devoted to your field of study; chances are you would feel that to a degree (no pun intended), your uni or college wasn’t catering to your interests. Conversely, having these assets available assures them that the institution is ready to assist them, whenever they want, which goes a long way.
Integrate Opportunities for Studying Abroad
Conversely, nothing is better for a student’s future endeavors than the great memories gained from trips abroad. Having a business/entrepreneur themed study abroad program allows students to meet professionals internationally, as opposed to locally and nationally. This doesn’t just imbue them with a positive disposition to do with their career decisions, but also to further their entrepreneurial flair and start networking.
As we all know, networking is one of the most important aspects of business expansion, and brand awareness. If these study abroad periods are geared towards that, students will be motivated to get some practice in early, and make business connections that they can use later in their careers. Often, we don’t know that we are making connections until we need them again in the future, and it helps to have a few names in your email inbox to help you along.
So, What’s The Verdict?
For many, educational environments are the ground floor from which they will rise to their futures, and there are many options that institutions can integrate in order to provide their students with opportunities that will ultimately assist them in that progression. By inducing a few of these suggestions into your curriculum, you will quickly find that your business-minded students will feel supported, motivated, and are more likely to rise to the challenge of launching their own business.
Or simply studying harder. But the possibilities are broad. Endless, even.
