Abstract
In a bid to improve entrepreneurial outcomes of graduates from Nigerian universities, the Nigerian government has launched a range of interventions, including a 2004 national policy mandating compulsory inclusion of entrepreneurship education in the curriculum, and support for the establishment and implementation of entrepreneurship development activities by university departments. However, not much is known about the operational nuances, challenges and impact cases that characterise the implementation of this national policy in such a vast, culturally diverse country as Nigeria. To address this lacuna, this study draws on qualitative data from five focus groups, crystalised with quantitative data from 151 students across four Nigerian Universities, to explicate the current trends, successes, and challenges of entrepreneurship development and innovation support in Nigerian universities. The paper offers recommendations on how the current policy on entrepreneurship education in Nigeria can be enhanced to improve student entrepreneurial aspirations and outcomes. It also signposts innovative pedagogic activities which could be deployed to achieve this.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e29940 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Heliyon |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 23 Apr 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 May 2024 |
Bibliographical note
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Funder
This work was supported by the British Council Innovation for African Universities Programme.Funding
This work was supported by the British Council Innovation for African Universities Programme.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| British Council |
Keywords
- Entrepreneurial aspirations
- Entrepreneurial outcomes
- Entrepreneurship education
- Innovation
- Nigeria
- University-industry partnership
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General