Integrating Entrepreneurship into the University Curriculum: Perceptions of 4th Year Students in One Public University in Zimbabwe

This study was conducted to find out what the students' views were regarding the right time to introduce Entrepreneurship into the university curriculum. The issue of when Entrepreneurship should be taught at university level has been a topic for debate amongst students, with some raising concerns that the course is not given adequate time to complete the entire entrepreneurial process. From a population of 477 students studying Entrepreneurship as a service course, 221 randomly selected fourth and final year students of one public university in Zimbabwe participated. The study employed a case survey approach which used semi-structured questionnaires to collect data. Thematic coding was used to analyse qualitative data. Findings were two-fold: that at the university under study, Entrepreneurship was introduced at fourth and final year level and that students felt that the course should be embedded into the curriculum earlier. Recommendations were that Entrepreneurship be taught from first year level to enable coverage of both the theoretical and practical components of the Entrepreneurship course. Alternatively, the study recommended that a specialised degree program be developed which would allow for the introduction of the Entrepreneurship course from first year university level.