Greece is a country known for being entrepreneurial. And while it may not be exactly the same as the U.S., a study done there has found some interesting results that may very well apply to our own nation.

This study, titled Entrepreneurship Among Graduates: Reality and Prospects in Tertiary Education, examined how education affected graduates who went into business on their own. 249 graduates, from two different years, who had started their own businesses since graduation were questioned.

Two important percentages stand out from the results of the study:

• 44% report a low correlation or none at all between their college degree and the business they started.

• 51% report that they use little to none of what they learned in college in their business practices.

If given the option, would students choose to take courses in a particular business of interest? A business management degree may provide the basics, but what about the specifics for a particular industry that a student may already be interested in?

Even if a student has no entrepreneurial ambitions at the time, with as many young people that are going into business for themselves these days, colleges and universities should offer a degree track in entrepreneurship. At the very least, offer a course on the subject of ownership and make it a requisite, just like math and science. This gives the general population of students a chance to taste the freedom and fulfillment that business ownership brings.

I propose conducting our own study of U.S. college graduates who started a business. I imagine that the results wouldn’t be that far off from what Greece came up with. If so, it tells me that we need to catch up with the entrepreneurial trend and provide an expanded education that will aid in the development of our economy.

What do you think? Does your college education aid you in your entrepreneurial ventures, or are they completely unrelated? Do our colleges need to offer more entrepreneurial related courses? Share your thoughts.

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One Response to “Universities Should Provide More Entrepreneurial Studies”

1. Chris Brunner says:
   

   College taught me many things, but none of them have to do with how my business is run. The university I attended prepared us for working within departments of a large corporation such as PR, accounting, management, data management, etc.

   I chose not to take the corporate career path and had to wing it on my own. To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Some entrepreneurial classes would have been nice but I am thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to find my own way.

   Posted June 20th, 2007 @ 5:22 pm
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