Parmita Debnath – Head – Student Experience for all programs and Professional Development (EMBA), SP Jain School of Global Management.
Entrepreneurship has indeed become one of the most important catalysts that drives the global economy.
The last three decades has seen the importance of boosting entrepreneurship withing the regional economies considering its manifold benefits. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) SMEs represent over 90 per cent of the business population, contributing to 60-70 percent of employment and 55 percent of the GDP in developed economies.
SMEs thus play an important role in promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and fostering innovation worldwide. Therefore, nurturing an entrepreneurial culture can maximise individual and collective economic and social success on a global scale.
Small businesses are also seen as agile early movers in adapting to new trends and responding to crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic most recently. Zoom is a good example of this.
Can Entrepreneurship be taught?
The late Peter Drucker, one of the leading management thinkers of the 20th century, said it best: “The entrepreneurial mystique? It’s not magic, it’s not mysterious, and it has nothing to do with the genes. It’s a discipline. And, like any discipline, it can be learned.”
In the past, a university education typically prepared students for careers defined by others. More than ever in this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world, universities need to prepare them for careers they define themselves.
Universities today are responsible for creating value through academic knowledge. They play a crucial role in underpinning key knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills in grooming aspiring entrepreneurs.
Joshua Reeves, CEO of a payroll and benefits startup ‘Gusto’, who pursued his entrepreneurial studies at the Stanford University (USA), gives full credit to the programme.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the founders of Instagram, met as students in an entrepreneurship studies programme.
Designing an Executive MBA around Entrepreneurship
Inclusion of Entrepreneurship within an EMBA programme is rewarding and is typically designed for the experienced corporate who aspires to be an entrepreneur, and needs to understand to assess, develop, and create potential business opportunities.
In this degree programme, students learn about the broad topics that are typically covered in an Executive MBA programme, including business management, operations, finance and accounting, and marketing. However, the specialisation in Entrepreneurship focuses on the distinct skill sets needed to build and grow a new business.
Developing entrepreneurship skills
New venture creation
It is important to expose students to the modern approaches to new venture creation, the iterative process of venture development, screening techniques that will address the new venture value proposition; including analysis of the underlying business concept, the base technology, benefits to customers, and fit with potential markets. Various models for new venture development, the resourcing requirements, the competitive landscape, team development and future strategies is generally taught within the course which is very beneficial.
Corporate Turnaround, Turnaround Management
Budding entrepreneurs would require the basic understanding of accounting, corporate finance, product marketing, organisational leadership development, operations, people management and strategy formulation typically how a general manager handles a business situation having a 360-degree approach.
Technology Entrepreneurship
Technology Entrepreneurship and its fundamental concepts, theories, principles, and practices in the field of entrepreneurship and the role it plays in the global economy is an important study to consider along with critical thinking abilities, idea generation and decision-making abilities by analysing situations and formulating strategies for complex entrepreneurial cases and through the experience of applied business research project.
To conclude, designing an Executive MBA around Entrepreneurship, can undeniably enable the creation of an entrepreneurial culture.
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