Diaries of establishing an entrepreneurship incubator at a health sciences university

Abstract

Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) conferences and students’ entrepreneurial intervarsity competitions have  brought awareness and insight to students, academics, and other higher learning institution (HEI) stakeholders to the value that  entrepreneurship can provide them and their communities. A reflective practice account on entrepreneurship development interventions at a South African health sciences university was conducted using a qualitative ethnography research method and living theory. This  study reflects efforts in integrating entrepreneurship at a university that does not offer management and economic sciences. The  method was to benchmark and emulate occurrences at universities leading in entrepreneurship and the use of qualitative inputs from  the EDHE. Integration of entrepreneurship into the mainstream university core functions is grounded in futuristic curriculum theory  which recognises the necessity of re-organising current needs to meet future global changes and trends, traverse existing circumstances,  and the imagined future and challenges. The current South African environment is faced with high unemployment, especially of the youth. This has also necessitated HEI to review their graduate attributes and refocus students’ mindsets towards  entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education can be demonstrated through business start-ups and incubation initiatives that might  provide the missing gaps for growing an entrepreneurial university. This article presents views, challenges and experiences on the   implementation of an entrepreneurship incubator at a health sciences university in South Africa.