How entrepreneurship influences the engineering faculty at a new university of technology

Abstract

This work examines the challenges facing the Department of Electrical Engineering at CPUT regarding the development of entrepreneurship in the South Africa.

Industry and higher education in South Africa face a testing future of profound technological change, a shortage of engineers, as well as an engineering job market that continues to grow ever smaller. There is a pressing need for technology graduates to harbour skills to grow new high technology ventures.

The recent report published by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor showed our graduates having the potential to reverse the negative growth in the skills market by way of wealth creation and thus job creation. Therefore, academic institutions, such as CPUT, need to produce not only quality technology graduates, but also effective entrepreneurial graduates.

This research examines ways in which the curriculum at the faculty could be expanded to include an engineering-biased entrepreneurship stream, presenting engineering graduates with opportunity to generate income from sources other than the job market.

The perception of both first year and BTech (fourth year) students are tested regarding the need for entrepreneurial engineers in the SA economy, and the academic's role in supporting such a need. The perception of senior staff are also sought to provide a more rounded perspective on possible interventions. The results show both entry-level and exit-level students agree an additional stream, focusing on entrepreneurship would empower them to make informed decisions regarding their futures. The results could be used to shape the sustainable inclusion of entrepreneurial imperatives in an engineering context.