Lots of universities have introduced enterprise modules over the past few years. Roehampton has recently taken the initiative to create a whole new Master’s course in Bioentrepreneurship that is expected to teach students how to transform their biomedical research into successful commercial products that can be used by private and public organisations. What is important about this initiative is that it gives a broader scope to enterprise, taking it away from the bias that entrepreneurship is only of interest to business students.
This could not be more relevant nowadays, given the current economic climate. Students from any discipline should be given the opportunity to develop transferable skills that will ultimately make them more employable. I recently attended a lecture of the MSc in Sports Science as a guest. Not your typical enterprise-focused students, you would think. However, those students were given the task to work in groups and present their suggestions on how a real business, a sports rehabilitation centre, could improve its output. Students came up with bright and innovative ideas which they presented eloquently and convincingly. They were a joy to watch and made their teacher really proud. Which confirms what I said earlier – any student can be enterprising and entrepreneurial as long as they are given the right stimulus and sufficient guidance.
This is the very reason why universities need to embrace similar initiatives and think outside the limited academic box of ways to help students develop their full potential. After all, surely this is the very purpose of universities. To develop students as individuals needs to be a top priority for any higher education institution today.
