Help us improve Student Entrepreneurship Support at Nelson Mandela University by accessing the SES Assessment Tool and completing the survey.
Implementing a Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Assessment Tool at Nelson Mandela University
Dear Nelson Mandela University staff members and students
South Africa experiences some of the highest levels of unemployment in the world. This is particularly problematic for the youth and for graduating students. Entrepreneurship in general, including student entrepreneurship, is seen as providing a solution to these high levels of unemployment. However, because the number of student start-ups in South Africa remains stagnant, the effectiveness of university-based student entrepreneurship support is questioned.
Against this background, the stakeholders at Nelson Mandela University want to take steps to improve the support offered to student entrepreneurs at this university. To do so, they need to understand and assess the existing support available. This first step involves implementing a tool to assess student entrepreneurship support which has been developed as an international collaborative project between Nelson Mandela University, the University of Pretoria and Ghent University, funded by VLIR-UOS.
We invite all current staff members and students at Nelson Mandela University to access the SES Assessment Tool and to complete the survey. This will enable student entrepreneurship support stakeholders to improve the type and quality of support given to entrepreneurial students at our university.
The ethical integrity of the SES Assessment Tool has been subjected to the procedures of the Research Ethics Committee (Human) of Nelson Mandela University. The ethics clearance number of this study is H22-BES-BMA-164 and the regulatory authority is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research Innovation and Internationalisation, Dr Thandi Mgwebi (Natalie.Slambee@mandela.ac.za). Any ethical queries, complaints or concerns relating to this study can be directed to the researchers (see contact details below) and Dr Dalray Gradidge, the REC-H Chair (rd@mandela.ac.za). Thereafter, they can be directed to the National Research Ethics Council. Please find more details regarding the project and the ethical considerations in the letter attached.
If you are interested in and willing to participate in this survey, please follow this link: https://mandela.questionpro.com/ses-assessment-tool.
You are welcome to request a report on the results of the survey via the SES Assessment Tool website (https://student-entrep-support.co.za/). If you do so, the report will be sent to your university email address after the survey period of four weeks is over.
Thank you for your assistance.
Kind regards
SES project team and the Madibaz Youth Entrepreneurship Lab
Prof Shelley Farrington (primary responsible person) – shelley.farrington@mandela.ac.za
Mr Riyaad Ismail (principal investigator) – s216094577@mandela.ac.za
Miss Atlehang Nkotha (Madibaz Youth Entrepreneurship Lab Coordinator) - entrepreneurship@mandela.ac.za
