Entrepreneurs usually have leadership skills, drive, creativity and an extreme desire to succeed in their own business. These individuals are also risk takers. People who do not possess at least some of these traits may not have what it takes to become an entrepreneur. However, without the proper education, all the talent in the world may not be enough. There are certain courses that individuals should take to learn how to run their own business. Moreover, there are MBA (Master of Business Administration) degrees that are specifically designed for the aspiring entrepreneur. (1)
According to Karam Lakshman, program manager - iAccelerator, “IIM Ahmedabad believes that entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation required to encourage entrepreneurial success and lay down the conditions and solutions to the challenges that one might foresee in a venture”
“Business is the backbone of a country’s economy and entrepreneurship is a tremendous force that has a huge impact on facilitating growth, recovery and societal progress. It results in innovation, employment generation and social empowerment. In India, entrepreneurship education is gradually picking up. That said, it needs to scale up further to make everyone involved – promoter, investor, parents, employees, etc - more aware about the different aspects,” he expresses.
According to Dr Harsh Mishra, associate professor, strategic management , Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, there is a need for B-schools to have entrepreneurship focused courses and programs. “Before even experiencing the status quo as an employee, formal education in entrepreneurship makes a case for early intervention by exposing students to successful stories, the underlying rationale or theory as well as the science and mechanism for tapping and developing their entrepreneurial instincts,” says Mishra.
Many organisations offer full-credit courses in entrepreneurship and are also establishing a business incubator that could provide the opportunity to several new entrepreneurs to germinate their ideas into a business enterprise. According to Mishra, courses and programs on entrepreneurship are often interdisciplinary and an MBA program with entrepreneurial focus encourages students to crystallise, test, self-critique and gain confidence in their own ideas to move forward.
Many experts feel that B-schools must encourage entrepreneurship, but a student before opting for such courses, must analyse his/her own personal entrepreneurial capacity. Before starting up a venture, one must evaluate their entrepreneurial idea to meet the existing market need or a new emerging market demand, become aware of the legalities involved and various support systems in the eco-system for entrepreneurship and must not be obsessed with the desired financial outcome.
Starting one’s own venture is never an easy task but a formal training could teach a person the nuances of the journey. That is why entrepreneurship education is gaining such momentum in recent times. (2)
- Suniet Bezbaroowa (views expressed in the article are that of the author)
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