Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on the development of Entrepreneurial Activities: The Case of Omani Undergraduate Students

College of Economics, Management, and Information Systems & Entrepreneurship Center University Nizwa

^* Corresponding author: a.alshukaili@unizwa.edu.om

Abstract

Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation has always been the important to the Sultanate of Oman’s future. This research will shed light on the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education on the development of entrepreneurial activities in Oman. Large number of studies have concerned about entrepreneurship education, and entrepreneurial intention, but very few studies focusing on the how and why entrepreneurship education influences and their impact on entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, the objective of our study is to identify the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship intention among undergraduate students in Oman. A survey questionnaire is used as the primary data collection tool by way of an online survey, and a sample from public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Oman. The sample will consist of two groups selected among a population of undergraduate students who are in their final semester of study, and from those who have graduated during the previous two years. As this research is still in progress, we are expecting to collect a sample exceeding two hundred questionnaires. Preliminary testing of the model indicates that the survey instrument of this study is a fair, valid, and reliable method with which to conduct this field data collection. The research findings are expected to contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between the various components of entrepreneurship education and the entrepreneurial intention of those undergraduate students from the target populations. Since increasing attention has been given to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education in Oman, in recent years, it is expected that the findings of this research will reveal the effectiveness of such programs in enhancing the potential of students to enable them to become effective, self-employed, entrepreneurs.