Apart from being multi-billionaires and highly successful business people, what do these four men have in common?
They all started the above businesses in college.
Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, Larry Page and Sergey Bin were all Student Entrepreneurs.
Student Entrepreneurship
Student Enterprise/Entrepreneurship has become far more prominent in the past few years. Employers, Universities and students alike are beginning to value to skill set needed in Enterprise just as much as the economical benefits of the entrepreneurial venture.
Establishments and Institutes are no longer looking solely to back businesses, in fact they are progressively look to invest in bright academics, determined students and passionate individuals.
The Student Entrepreneur is fast becoming attractive and favored by Colleges and Employers making Student Entrepreneurship a very hot topic at the moment.
Student Enterprise for the College
The best and brightest minds have, in previous years, have been fixed into structures of education where the desired outcome is focused on employability, as opposed to entrepreneurship.
But, this is changing.
Universities and Colleges are fast beginning to appreciate the entrepreneurial talent that is sitting among academia. Skill-sets that would traditionally been associated with entrepreneurship such as problem-solving, creativity and risk-taking are increasingly on demand by employers.
There is no doubt of the economical benefit of entrepreneurship however, the educational benefits of enterprise in now becoming widely known.
Universities all over Ireland are investing time and resources into Student Enterprise supports to develop these educational and economical benefits.
Thinkbusiness.ie summarizes these initiatives in their write-up on ‘The best colleges in Ireland for Student Entrepreneurship‘. Mentioned on the list is Cork Institute of Technology
Working with the Rubicon center, CIT has seen the proportion of graduate who are self-employed after they graduate, double in the past 5 years. They do so by running accelerator programmes, competitions, supports and events that excite, ignite and foster innovation in students. Click here for to see a list of these programmes from CIT and the Rubicon Centre.
All over the country Universities are collaborating with Incubation Centres and creating opportunities for Student to make their business idea, a reality. This puts students at the centre of their education and their career nurturing an educational environment of creativity, innovation, risk taking, problem solving and passion.
Student Enterprise for the Student
Being a student is tough. You have hours of lecturers, even more hours of assignments, looming deadlines and exams, no money and crappy food. The prospect of setting up a business when you are in College would therefore initially seem like a crazy idea but the pros of Student Entrepreneurship definitely outweigh the cons.
- Employability – As mentioned earlier, the traits that are learned through and associated with, entrepreneurship are some of the skills are are most in demand by employers. By embarking in Enterprise in Third Level Education, students immediately have the leg up when is comes to job prospects regardless of the success or failure of the Enterprise.
- Finance Options – The University world is full of alternative financing options and resources to support innovative ventures in all departments. Third Level Educational Institutions have the capacity to issue grants to progressive projects and, grants – unlike traditional financing – comes with less strings attached. You may not have much money as a student in Enterprise, but you don’t need much money as a student in Enterprise. The supports are there.
- Networking Opportunities – Universities and Colleges are perfect places for networking and establishing relationships that can build your business and your expertise. With people from diverse background, skill sets, cultures and mind-sets, the networking opportunities are great and possibilities are endless.
- Help and Support – Many Universities and Colleges are supports, resources and awards in place for students who make entrepreneurial ventures. However, it may be as simple as asking your lecturer or professor for their advice or help. In the ‘real world’ it is much more difficult find genuine people with a wealth of expertise to help you for free. Make the most of the talent and skill set at hand in College.
Student Entrepreneurship is not easy but nothing worth having comes easy.
It is to everyone’s benefit that we invest time and resources in supporting students in their entrepreneurial journeys and promote Enterprise and Innovation in Universities and College.
And to students;
Take the risk and do it!
Let’s graduate with a degree and a business and take the world by storm!
