(SEW2018)
Student Entrepreneurship Week

Student Entrepreneurship – the Best of Both Worlds

Background to Student Entrepreneurship Week
National Student Entrepreneurship Week was piloted in 2017 and was successfully executed on by 19 public universities and the first TVET college through the hosting of in-house programmes in partnership with business, industry and NPOs. This happened through the entrepreneurial and innovative actions of dynamic champions for entrepreneurship at the participating institutions. Each institution designed their own one-week programme suited to their students and context, mostly by optimising their existing resources and expertise, joining forces with the private sector and business community, and sourcing sponsorships.

SEW2018 in a nutshell
This year Student Entrepreneurship Week is building on the accomplishments of SEW2017 by making the circle bigger. The aim is for all (26) public universities to participate, along with leading TVET colleges. Promising partnerships in SEW2018 are developing in certain regions, such as Kwazulu-Natal.

Objectives of SEW2018
We all know that entrepreneurship is not a magic solution in a context of mass unemployment, but through this initiative we will alert students to the fact that employment is not their only option to participation in the economy. The primary objective of SEW2018 is to raise awareness of entrepreneurship in its different forms as an alternative to formal employment. Students will be challenged to have career options in place, should they not be employed upon graduating. Students will also be challenged to consider entrepreneurial ways to supplement their income while studying, for example by participating in the gig economy or trying their hand at dropshipping. In a context where students struggle to make ends meet while studying, the message is that they might try their hand at some form of businesses, thus pursuing the best of the academic world alongside the business world.