Entrepreneurship Education and Engineering Students

Abstract

A 15-year cohort of graduates of an engineering degree programme at a major Canadian university who had taken either one (1EES) or three (3EES) elective entrepreneurship course(s) and a randomly stratified comparison group are the subjects of this paper. Career path, business start-ups, ownership, performance and satisfaction with their entrepreneurship education are examined. Being male and taking one or more courses in entrepreneurship proved to be a strong predictor of business ownership. Significantly more of the 1EES group had started businesses (48% had owned a business at some time since graduation) than those in the comparison group (26% had owned a business at some time since graduation). However, business performance was not significantly different according to group. Taking one or more courses in entrepreneurship was also a strong predictor of later reaching top management status. Significantly more of the 1EES group, who were not business owners, were employed in top management positions. This study also provides information on the time lag from graduation to venturing, on business characteristics, and on the desire for an entrepreneurial career in the future. Findings are important for educators and policy makers.