Empowering University Graduates for Self-Defined Careers via Entrepreneurship: A Roadmap

Abstract

The increasing unemployment among the educated groups has become a major socio-economic problem which is being addressed by Higher education system of India which is relentlessly working towards developing a culture of generating successful entrepreneurs. Different studies have been conducted to demonstrate how entrepreneurial education imparted by academic institutions has paved way for students to become self-reliant. This research work has been focussed on identifying the bottlenecks/ lacunae in education system that hamper the growth of students as entrepreneurs. The main instrument of study was a questionnaire that confirmed validity by a panel of experts. This study used 120 respondents from postgraduate students of SKUAST-Kashmir where 50% of the respondents were female students. The results of study showed that majority of respondents lacked the confidence and skills to become entrepreneurs. The investigation has suggested the pathways to overcome these drawbacks thus making University education system more entrepreneurship oriented. The study concluded that for motivating, developing positive attitude and expertise among the students regarding entrepreneurship, the universities need to reframe their syllabus and pedagogy which is focused on practical applicability of a subject. The research work also highlighted the importance of including entrepreneurship related subject from 1st year up to the final year of the study in order to inculcate the culture of entrepreneurship among the students. The study suggested the steps to be undertaken for making higher education system more entrepreneurship focused and result oriented.