Entrepreneurship programs at city universities
Print Edition
LEADING city universities are offering programs for aspiring business tycoons, following national government calls for more entrepreneurship-focused courses.
The Ministry of Education circular released yesterday also encourage students to take breaks from study to start their own businesses.
This is the first time the circular has prioritized encouraging university entrepreneurship, observers say.
“Its importance is heightened as it appears in the very first section of circular. Previously, it was mentioned almost as something affiliated to the other guidelines,” noted Sang Dawei, deputy dean of the School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The Jiao Tong school has enrolled 250 students in its entrepreneurship programs since 2010, said Sang.
Success for some
Taking time out to start a business — usually with a one-year suspension from study — can be a success for some students, Sang said,
Two Jiao Tong students who took a break were part of the founding team of ele.me, which is now the largest online food ordering platform in China.
But few students have actually taken advantage of the policy, Sang said. “It’s about three to five students per year.”
And Sang always told students to think carefully first.
They are often advised to consider their choice unless they have fully mature plans which can only be realized if they don’t study at the same time, Sang said.
Yang Xutao, director of Venture Valley, the year-old hub of innovation and entrepreneurship education at Tongji University, also expressed reservations about taking time out to start a business.
Students need opportunities to test business ideas rather than suspending study itself, said Yang.
Currently, Venture Valley has only one student who has taken a break to start a business, said Yang.
Yang revealed that Tongji aims in two or three years to roll out a new business management degree program for students with exciting business ideas.
“The program will offer tailor-made courses and students will be evaluated in a totally different way from typical academic schools,” Yang said.
A total of 3,976 projects have been funded by Shanghai Technology Entrepreneurship Foundation for Graduates since 2006.
The government’s move is part of efforts to improve employment prospects as China will have 7.49 million graduates in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent, the ministry says.
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