Education in entrepreneurship: The key to long term success in business, or not worth the price of tuition?
Are there any real benefits of taking part in higher level education on the job, for those involved in the business world today? Final year business management student, and entrepreneur Feyi Ogunyeye seems to think so, going into 2017’s “Learning at Work week”. With the cost of University tuition in England rising by another 2.8% in 2017 from the previous year (Coughlan, 2016), the question could be posed on the value of such schooling for entrepreneurs today.
“For those considering self-employment, the benefits of higher education whilst running a business can often be written off as an expense not worth paying for” Feyi says. However, some articles and academic studies, such as those written at Arizona and New York University (Shane, 2010), find that entrepreneurs who take part in higher education before, or during their businesses journey's, end up performing better at running a business themselves.
This still poses a question, of what ways specifically education aids those in business, in comparison to those who choose to learn how to set up, and run a company through another route. One idea promoted by a 2015 article on education in entrepreneurship, is that education can help to train skills such as critical thinking, and successful interpersonal communication, alongside nurturing an ability to innovate amongst students. Author and previous winner of the Pulitzer prize Thomas Friedman, also strongly believes that education has a part to play in the creation of future successful businesses (Rodov and Truong).
This view is supported by Feyi, a student entrepreneur who over the past year has successfully started, and run sustainable technology business BrighThinking alongside his degree. He says that “having the opportunity to improve my management skills at University, alongside learning about how to study important decisions in the world of business, has been really important for me as an entrepreneur”.
Notes to editors
For media comment surrounding the benefits of higher education for entrepreneurship, and information about BrighThinking’s business journey, contact Feyi at:
Tel: 07702206915
Email: FeyiOgunyeye@BrighThinking.co.uk
Twitter: @FeyiOgunyeye or @BrighThinking1
Website: www.BrighThinking.co.uk
References:
Coughlan, S. (2017). University tuition fees rise to £9,250 for current students - BBC News. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36856026 [Accessed 12 May 2017].
Rodov, F. and Truong, S. (2015). Why Schools Should Teach Entrepreneurship. [online] Entrepreneur.com. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245038 [Accessed 14 May 2017].
Shane, S. (2010). Does Entrepreneurship Education Make People Better Entrepreneurs?. [online] Small Business Trends. Available at: https://smallbiztrends.com/2010/09/does-entrepreneurship-education-make-people-better-entrepreneurs-2.html [Accessed 13 May 2017].