Entrepreneurial ambience of engineering education in India

Abstract

Education is a social process and the form of education is a product of society-education dialectics. In this context, quality of education assumes an added importance and becomes the primary concern of all the stakeholders in education. In current market turbulence, a focus on entrepreneurship has a special strategic significance for engineering education as it reflects a growing perception that new graduates need the technical and behavioural attributes of an entrepreneur for a successful professional life. The previous paradigm of a 'science-based conceptual engineer' has given way to a 'science-based entrepreneurial engineer'. In response to this inevitable change, educationists must do rethinking on the way the students are educated by infusing creative thinking and innovation in their educational curriculum. With this change in the mindset and the relative knowledge that entrepreneurs bring forth, in many institutes some courses on entrepreneurship and innovation are being developed and offered to cater to the increasing demand. As engineering institutes meet this demand through a heightened entrepreneurial outlook, the paper discusses their strategic role in generating entrepreneurship which is a potential source of employment generation in a developing nation like India.