Fostering entrepreneurship makes students more resilient

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Entrepreneurship as a driving force in higher education is hardly new.

In Canada, it started gaining momentum 30 years ago with the introduction of entrepreneurship courses in business programs. Today, entrepreneurship education has evolved and extends well beyond business schools, fostering a culture of innovation across campuses and across the country.

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Yet, it continues to be misunderstood and undervalued.

If you ask someone what an entrepreneur is, they are bound to say: “Someone who started their own business.”

In addition, common terms we associate with entrepreneurship, such as “start-ups,” “angel investors,” “seed funding,” and “incubators,”  can turn some people away because they seem to clash with the traditional ideals of a university education.

While university entrepreneurship includes those elements, it encompasses so much more.

It focuses on channeling ingenuity into real-world impact. It’s not just about launching the next big company; it’s about cultivating a mindset to navigate uncertainty, solve complex problems, and create value in whatever field they choose.

Yes, university entrepreneurship programs teach students how to start a business and this can be valuable for some. But, at their core, these programs instill adaptability, resilience, and problem-solving and teach students to use their creativity to forge unique and perhaps unexpected career paths.

Today’s job market is volatile and industries are being disrupted at pace. Entrepreneurial thinking equips students to thrive in this uncertain environment, teaching them how to turn ideas into action and challenges into opportunities.

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This is not just a “nice-to-have” skillset in the modern economy. It’s essential.

Entrepreneurship not only fosters innovation but also drives social good. At Western, we launched the president’s challenge, asking students to develop ideas on how to keep Canadians out of the hospital.

We expected entries from 20 teams, but more than 50 came forward with smart, workable proposals. The winning team was a group of engineering, neuroscience and psychology students who developed a plan to introduce mobile diagnostic imaging, increasing access to MRIs in rural and remote settings.

Entrepreneurship also bolsters the university research mission. Research demands an entrepreneurial mindset: creativity, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks.

The COVID-19 pandemic exemplified this connection. Entrepreneurial attributes such as innovation and resourcefulness drove the late-stage development of vaccines, enabling a swift response to a global crisis. That combination of entrepreneurial thinking and rigorous research is crucial in addressing other grand challenges of our time such as climate change, socioeconomic inequality, threats to democracy, and technological disruption.

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This is entrepreneurship in action, using ingenuity to solve real-world problems and improve lives.

Across Canada, universities are integrating entrepreneurial thinking into their educational framework, preparing students to navigate and shape uncertain futures, theirs and ours.

This approach is supported by visionary leaders; universities elevate entrepreneurship beyond start-ups. At Western, we are fortunate to have benefitted from alumni and partners such as Pierre Morrissette and Ron Schmeichel, and many more, who believe in bringing the power of entrepreneurship to every student. Just last month, we opened the Ronald D. Schmeichel building for entrepreneurship and innovation, a 9,300 square metre, state-of-the-art facility housing the Morrissette institute for entrepreneurship and featuring one of Canada’s largest maker spaces available to all students across all faculties, as well as staff, faculty and alumni interested in inventing and sharing innovative ideas.

By focusing on entrepreneurship, universities are preparing students not just to understand the world, but to change it.

Alan Shepard is president of Western University.

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