How to gain the skills, knowledge and contacts you need in college to create your own business – and four examples of universities with entrepreneurship programs.
If your intention is to have your own business, be self-employed, create a startup or any other venture, you can take advantage of your university period to develop all the skills, knowledge and contacts necessary to be successful.
Even if you don’t intend to start your own business yet, the entrepreneurial spirit is a skill applicable in different careers and contexts, sought after by employers around the world and that will help you go far.
How can entrepreneurial skills be developed in students?
How to undertake in college?
Let’s face it, there are few who graduate from high school with a revolutionary idea for a new business and who are prepared with the experience and contacts to launch it themselves. Therefore, although a degree is not completely necessary to become an entrepreneur, it provides several benefits, such as those listed below!
1. Networking
One of the main advantages for entrepreneurship of obtaining an academic degree is the chance to meet people in a specific area, such as other students, teachers, researchers, specialists, employers and professionals. This contact will allow you to gain the relevant knowledge and training required in certain sectors.
Whether in the classroom, in internships and practical experience, in extracurricular activities or student clubs, or during your TCC, during your undergraduate years you will meet people who will be essential for launching your business.
Furthermore, you can learn by observing – how to put theory into practice, how things work in the real world, how to recruit other professionals to work with you, how to manage, how to relate to clients, etc.
2. Career fairs
Career fairs are one of the best networking opportunities during college, and they are quite popular at institutions abroad, such as Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Careers Fairs are events in which the university welcomes representatives from different companies, sectors, organizations and industries to campus to talk to students. It’s a first-hand experience to make contacts, answer your questions and, who knows, get an internship or job.
If your intention is to create a business when you graduate, this is your chance to talk to someone who has been through the same experience and has a lot of knowledge, tips and insights to share.
3. Student clubs and societies
As you may already know, universities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and other major study destinations around the world maintain a variety of clubs and societies to cater to students’ interests and help them develop extracurricular skills. . They can be sporting, cultural, artistic, political, international and much, much more, including entrepreneurship!
University College London (UCL), in London, for example, has a society of entrepreneurs, people with similar goals get together, share ideas, create projects, attend lectures by CEOs and founders of successful companies, etc.
This is not only an excellent networking opportunity, but also to meet leaders and discover how they started their careers as entrepreneurs. After all, everyone has to start somewhere!
4. Areas of study relevant to entrepreneurship
If you want to start your own business, it would be interesting to choose an undergraduate area of study or a postgraduate specialization with a curriculum relevant to your purpose, which will provide the knowledge and skills necessary for entrepreneurship.
See some examples:
- Business Administration
- MBA
- Marketing
- Finance
- Communications
- Economy
- Psychology
- Engineering
- Entrepreneurship
Business Administration is a more obvious course in which you will acquire the skills necessary to open your own company or manage an existing one. However, there are still other areas of study that provide the knowledge you need. Marketing, for example, is a pillar for any business in order to reach the appropriate target audience and inform the market about your product or service.
Likewise, having mathematical aptitude or a financial sense would be extremely useful, especially when starting your business. Keeping track of your finances is a vital aspect of successfully running a business and also finding ways to earn new income.
Going even further, you would be surprised how Psychology is a useful degree course for budding entrepreneurs. Understanding people is a unique skill in any sector, whether it’s knowing your market, responding to customers or managing professional relationships.
Analyze which skills you need to acquire or improve to create your business and, based on what you identify, find an undergraduate and postgraduate course that meets your needs and objectives.
Entrepreneurship schemes in universities
For those looking for a course abroad that will help them become an entrepreneur, it is worth paying attention to the different universities that support students’ businesses and/or offer entrepreneurship schemes, such as the four examples below.
1. UNITED KINGDOM: London South Bank University
London South Bank University (LSBU), located in London, has a scheme called the Graduate Entrepreneur Scheme created to help students who graduated from the university in the last five years and who have a business idea.
LSBU has assisted 27 new ventures run by alumni over the past four years. The scheme involves access to mentors, legal advice and seed loans so graduates can launch their ideas.
2. CANADA: University of Toronto
Students and professors at the University of Toronto, Canada, have access to a variety of entrepreneurship programs. Some schemes are specific to healthcare and computer science, others are more general for young entrepreneurs developing early-stage businesses, starting with just an idea.
3. AUSTRALIA: University of Sydney
The University of Sydney, Australia, offers its students Accelerator Programs to help them launch their business ideas, one of which supports companies that have already been founded by at least one graduate of the institution. The successful business receives an investment of A$25,000, plus guidance and media exposure.
4. UNITED STATES: University of Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport in the United States has a Student Entrepreneurship Center that helps students start their own businesses by providing free resources and services. Expert advice is provided by business professionals across a variety of disciplines, such as products, non-profits, sales and more.
And there? Interested? We hope that with our tips you can start your search for the next step towards your own business, such as an undergraduate or postgraduate degree abroad !