Entrepreneurship Education in University: The Saudi Context

Abstract

Nurturing and training successful entrepreneurs constitutes a significant part of a country’s strategies for economic growth due to the role of entrepreneurship in economic development and job creation. This research examines entrepreneurship education at a Saudi university in the Eastern Province and proposes enhancements. Researchers applied the descriptive survey method, and the questionnaire was administered to 382 female university students. They highly agreed with the reality of education in the field of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship course covers entrepreneurial characteristics, marketing, operations, financial planning, and work values. Female students also highly agreed on ways of enhancement, such as aligning entrepreneurship models with Saudi aspirations, involving specialized faculty, and encouraging the post-graduation implementation of entrepreneurial ideas within course requirements. Finally, statistically significant differences based on college type were observed, while no significant differences were attributed to cumulative GPA. KEYWORDS higher education, Saudi universities, entrepreneurial university, skill building, unemployment, educational studies