Enterprising Self through Higher Education: Youth, Aspirations and Future Amidst Academic Entrepreneurialism

Abstract

This paper examines the macro trends, policy responses, and their impact on youth and their aspirations about the future. It uses the conceptualisation of “the self as enterprise” to focus our discussions about how, and to what extent, youth try to “enterprise” their selves through higher education amidst the global rise of academic entrepreneurialism. The paper addresses the new reality of changing economies and creative disruptions of employment markets facing youth and their futures. We will talk about the way youth career aspirations will be reconsidered and the role of higher education in it. We also discuss the in-betweenness of materialistic and post-materialistic pursuits among young people, as well as the topic about “enterprising self” through higher education and innovating futures using youth’s entrepreneurial mindset, competence, and “self-entrepreneurship”. The paper will end by discussing some inspirations and insights for policies and practices and empirical research concerning the topic of youth, futures, and aspirations.