ATTITUDES OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN NIGERIAN POLYTECHNICS

Abstract

Enterprising elements of entrepreneurship such as evaluating opportunity, developing new products, and handling start-ups are part and parcel of most business management curriculum. As for engineering discipline students interested in creating their own organization after graduation, they seem to be left in dark although in many cases they are originators of product ideas. In Nigeria, there is a growing concern that Engineering students do not have sufficient entrepreneurial skills to venture in business particularly running small and medium enterprise (SME) set-ups. The purpose of this study was to explore a broad array of attitudes toward and outcomes of entrepreneurship education on engineering students in order to understand the characteristics of students participating in related courses and activities, the nature and extent of their involvement, entrepreneurship’s role in their career plans, and its impact on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The study was conducted in three Polytechnics from the Northern Zone of Nigeria – Federal Polytechnic Kaduna, Kaduna State, Kano State Polytechnic, Kano State, Benue State Polytechnic, Benue State. Data was derived from both primary and secondary sources. Secondary data were drawn from accounts of published and unpublished materials using an in-depth interview qualitative approach and the analysis was done on ANOVA software. The study has concluded that curriculum review can be the key technique to enhancing synergy between engineering courses and entrepreneurship education KEY WORDS: Anova, Business, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Polytechnic, S1ynergy