Globally, the world of business is changing at an unprecedented pace and newcomers barely have time to adapt to a new company or a competitive environment. The challenges they face include a complex corporate world, lack of experience, and theoretical education that is out of sync with the real world.
Instead of being part of the problem, our education system can be a solution by making learning more engaging and hands-on by blending traditional business dogmas with real-world, practical experiences and challenges. There are numerous ways to improve entrepreneurship education, put degrees on the competitive map, and empower students for productive careers. Some of these are listed below:
Allow students to participate in entrepreneurship contests: There is nothing more experiential than letting students participate in contests that focus on a social cause or tech start-up ventures. For instance, a contest that pits groups against each other will encourage students to brainstorm and come up with unique and innovative ideas.
Focus on practical assessments: Case studies or practical assessments are an effective method to spur students’ curiosity and creative thinking ability. By studying corporate success stories and operational barriers, students can dig deeper into processes and strategies that lead to executive decision making.
Innovation is the key: Instead of relying on uniformity and discipline, our education system should focus on innovation, self-reliance, collaboration and innovation. We need to teach students how to apply their knowledge to do something out of the ordinary.
Incorporate technology into the curriculum: Given how technological change is disrupting all industries, educational institutions can jumpstart their students’ careers by teaching how companies are using these changes to innovate, communicate, and make money.
Promote internships: This will help students get hands-on experience in real-life situations and skills and learn from each other while solving operational challenges. To encourage entrepreneurship capabilities in students, educational institutions must focus more on practical, action driven, experiential and hands-on coursework.
When we connect education and entrepreneurship, it teaches students to use their strengths to make an impact, analyse situations, evaluate alternatives, pick a solution, and track progress over time.
The writer is the Founder of MetamorphosisEdu
