Assessment of Engineering Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Engineering Students of Osun State University, Nigeria

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is a major solution to the problem of unemployment resulting from multifaceted socio-economic challenges in the developing world. If engineers become entrepreneurs, it will create jobs, promote technological development, and enhance sustainable national economic growth. The process of entrepreneurship begins with the development of the intention to engage in such an enterprise; therefore, this study assessed the entrepreneurial intentions of university engineering students. To accomplish this task, Ajzen's theory of planned behavior is applied. A survey was conducted at the Faculty of Engineering, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria, using a structured questionnaire administered to 470 engineering students in 2021. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 20. The SPSS results of the descriptive and regression analyses show that entrepreneurial intentions could be studied statistically using Ajzen's theory. The results revealed that personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were statistically significant in determining engineering students' entrepreneurial intentions, while education level was not significant. Based on these results, the study recommends that engineering and entrepreneurship educators develop an integrated program to bridge the gaps between the engineering program and entrepreneurship education. It also recommends that engineering faculty leaders collaborate with entrepreneurial engineers who have successfully promoted entrepreneurship development in higher education institutions. Most importantly, the government is advised to provide loans and other structural incentives to assist young entrepreneurial engineers who wish to do so.