In 2020, an international collaborative project was initiated between researchers from Belgium’s Ghent University (UG), the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) and the University of Pretoria (UP). The South African researchers include Prof Shelley Farrington (NMU), Mr Riyaad Ismail (NMU), and Dr Alex Bignotti (UP), whereas the Belgium researchers include Prof Mirjam Knockaert (UG), Prof Saskia Crucke (UG), and Prof Jacob Vermeire (UG). The project is titled: Improving student entrepreneurship support at South African universities in order to mitigate youth unemployment. The project was funded by VLIR-UOS, an organisation that supports partnerships between universities in Flanders and the Global South, and aimed to identify and disseminate best practices in university-based student entrepreneurship support at South African public universities.
To achieve these aims, a project report and three case studies have been prepared. The project report elaborates on the literature, underlying theory and the methodology followed, whereas the three cases present the findings, with each focusing on a specific area of a university-based student entrepreneurship ecosystem (U-BEE).
These cases and project report are accessible through the following hyperlinks:
For any enquiries, please contact:
Mr Riyaad Ismail (Lead Researcher): riyaad.ismail@uantwerpen.be
Prof Shelley Farrington (Primary Responsible Person): shelley.farrington@mandela.ac.za