This essay surveys research published in the past four years or so, on how universities can foster the intention of students to launch entrepreneurial startups.
The main conclusion from these 25-30 research papers is this: While universities seek to foster entrepreneurship, their dominant academic approach to teaching anything — classrooms, textbooks, curricula, lectures and problem sets — is inappropriate for startup entrepreneurs.
Budding entrepreneurs seek first to understand what is involved in entrepreneurship, in practical terms, to learn whether they are suited for it; and for this they require hands-on, experiential, real-world ‘wet’ simulations and where possible, exposure to and collaboration with real entrepreneurs, with the goal of creating awareness, fostering intention and ultimately, generating action in launching new businesses.
