Page 94 - FREN-C2021 PROCEEDINGS

entrepreneurship skills regardless of his/her chosen career.

Entrepreneurship Thinking
Findings also indicated that the majority of the respondents highlighted entrepreneurship thinking is
important in entrepreneurship education among students. One respondent highlighted; “Having the
right entrepreneur mindset and thinking out of the box would be very beneficial for students in the
future. Mindset and thinking are the keys to successful entrepreneurs”. Moreover, another respondent
stated, “Students need to be creative and innovative when it comes to being an entrepreneur. For
example, in one of our selling activities for fundraising, I was amazed at how creative they are in
using some as part of their marketing strategy. They completed selling 200 doughnuts in just three
hours”. Furthermore, one respondent highlighted, “Students need to be industry-ready and change
their style of thinking. They need to be an opportunist in every situation. They cannot rely on
managers at any companies to hire them. They can create their job opportunity and be the manager of
their own company”. These findings describe well the trend in entrepreneurship education where
Malaysia and other countries are not only focusing on acquiring knowledge and skills in science and
technology per se. Moreover, Romero (2013) highlighted that the important influence to develop
entrepreneurship education and activities is through the involvement of the student in the field of
entrepreneurship activities and entrepreneurship education. Entrepreneurship gives space and
opportunities for individuals to work and think according to what a researcher wants them to explore
and create opportunities that enable a pretty good return. Thus, having entrepreneurship thinking is
important for students to embark on a serious entrepreneurship journey once they graduated.
Universities can embed entrepreneurship education through the curriculum available. The focus can
be on strategizing students to fully equip them with necessary entrepreneurship education through the
involvement of entrepreneurship activities as possible to get more exposure and knowledge in this
area. Furthermore, entrepreneurship activities should be more of an apprenticeship and less in the
classroom, which is suggested by Sirelkhatim and Gangi, (2015) as the best way to educate students
to become entrepreneurs.

Generally, universities and government agencies can develop entrepreneurship education by
combining activities focusing on mindset, skills and adventures characteristics in the syllabus. It is an
advantage since undergraduates are involved more in entrepreneurship activities. Additionally, this
study may also have policy implications especially for those providing assistance to entrepreneurs and
small business owners. Education gained by taking entrepreneurship subject has likely stimulated
interest, mind and ambition in becoming entrepreneurs. Curriculum content needs a more detailed
description so that entrepreneurship educators and curriculum designers can draw on insights from
previous experiences (Sirelkhatim et al, 2015). The findings of the study are also expected to provide
input for the development of entrepreneurship students in the studied universities in particular and
other entrepreneurship education to formulate a more effective strategy. This is to ensure that
entrepreneurship is taught to the corrosive culture of employed even be an incentive for self-
employment by adopting the characteristics of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education provides
students with an insight into the world of entrepreneurship that will be useful regardless of their
immediate career choice.

Market Sensitivity
The majority of the respondents agreed that market sensitivity is vital in entrepreneurship education
among students. One respondent highlighted; “For a customer to buy your product, you must study
your market first and conduct a market survey. You need to be sensitive about who are your target
audiences. Some students that involved in selling buying activities, yeah it’s good that they have the
passion and mindset but they forgot their customers. It should be their priority”. Moreover, one
respondent stated, “The tip is always to know your market well and take it seriously. You can’t expect
to have a customer if you ignore the market trend”. Furthermore, one respondent highlighted,
“Reaching out to our market as conveniently as possible would be the answer if you are selling any

[89]