‘ENTREPRENEURIAL LEARNING’ – THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITY LED BUSINESS INCUBATORS AND MENTORS IN EQUIPPING GRADUATES WITH THE NECESSARY SKILLS SET FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

Abstract

The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) has received significant academic and practitioner attention recently as a result of developments in automation and digitalisation of the home and work environments. Although these developments provide positive benefits to the world economy, they also have the potential to have both a positive and negative impact on human capital. It is within this context that this research, through a review of the current practices of business incubators and university-led business incubators, investigates the opportunities for entrepreneurial graduates in this disruptive environment and the role of education providers in equipping graduates with the necessary skills set to be entrepreneurial. As a partial response to a disruptive economy, the Malaysia Education Ministry produced a blueprint for Higher Education (2015-2025) where one of the key initiatives is to produce all-rounded and balanced entrepreneurial graduates. However, can this initiative be fully realised in universities and colleges when there is an ongoing debate on whether entrepreneurial skills can be taught (Drucker, 1985ab, Hills, 1988, Jensen, 2008, McClelland, 1999, Vesper and Gartner, 1997) and whether the teaching of such skills is more appropriate for a few individuals rather than embedded into the mainstream curriculum. Using a critical review of the literature, this paper aims to examine the nature and type of entrepreneurial learning which is most suitable for students while at university, providing insights for future research through the development of a theoretical model which examines the impact specifically of learner’s facilitators and business incubators on entrepreneurial education and development.