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Dignitaries in a group photograph
Associate Professor at Ashesi University, Dr. Gordon Adomdza, has called on universities and other higher educational institutions to extend their entrepreneurship support to alumni after they are done with school as a necessary step to enabling entrepreneurship and contributing to job creation, innovation, and local economic growth.
He made this assertion during the Students and Alumni Entrepreneurship Action as Outcomes of Experimental Learning event which hosted guests from McGill University (Canada), University of Ghana, University of Environment and Sustainable Development (Ghana), Koforidua Technical University, and Leti Arts (a Ghanaian Creative Arts and Entertainment Company).
The event at Ashesi University was to share research findings from a partner research fund project done by research teams from Ashesi and McGill Universities to study the impact of experiential learning on entrepreneurial actions of students and alumni.
The two partner institutions, Ashesi and McGill University, have Mastercard Foundation Investments that cover full scholarships for students and other alumni support programs, including entrepreneurship.
In expanding his point Dr. Adomdza explained that the findings from the study revealed, for instance, that higher educational institutions needed to consider providing financial support to alumni to cushion them to start or scale up their businesses.
Beyond students, alumni had better prospects of succeeding in entrepreneurship since they have had time to gain industry experience, develop skills, build social capital, and refine their ideas, leading to sustainable entrepreneurial ventures.
“Support for entrepreneurship at the universities should go beyond students to alumni because that is where you see people who have had some experience defining the odds to unbox their entrepreneurial talents and ideas,” he said.
Dr. Gordon Adomdza further mentioned that by providing the needed support – not just funding – to alumni entrepreneurship, universities can increase the likelihood of successful entrepreneurial ventures, contributing to alumni-led start-ups which will improve local economic growth through job creation and innovation.
The co-principal investigator from McGill University, Dr. Nii Addy – the Associate Director (Africa Outreach) & Associate Professor, at the School of Continuing Studies – put the spotlight on alumni support from the perspective of African Students studying abroad.
He stressed the need to deepen and expand collaborative actions among local and international institutions, like McGill, to help build support systems that facilitate connecting back to contribute to local ecosystems after studying abroad.
He pointed to findings from the research project in relation to the Transitions Program at McGill and recommended the adoption of more collaborative projects that stimulate expertise/mental participation, socio-cultural exchanges, and personal engagements towards entrepreneurship.
Other interesting findings from the study included the essence of active community engagement in imbibing problem-solving skills, and work ethic, among other qualities into students which they leverage to advance in intrapreneurial or entrepreneurial endeavors after school.
Additionally, the study brought to light the importance of combining technical and professional training courses with humanities and social science courses in training students.
It turned out that such academic training helps to expand their worldview and influences tackling everyday social challenges from unique and more pragmatic perspectives.
The study also underscored the need to engage students in teamwork and project-based assignments which pushes them to hone soft skills like people management, communication, and interpersonal skills.
The project, sponsored by the Mastercard Foundation, was commissioned to undertake a comparative study into how both institutions provide experiential exposures to their students, how such experiences unfold over time, and how they influence entrepreneurial actions of their students and alumni.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke
The post Extend University Entrepreneurship Supports To Alumni – Dr. Gordon appeared first on DailyGuide Network.
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