Published on August 2019 | Entrepreneur, Science, Education

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Throughout the world, there has been a great concern on how to totally apply science to develop people’s capacity to manage and bring on innovations. In some African countries like Nigeria where economies are still at the developmental stages, there are high rates of infrastructural dilapidations, unemployment, devaluations of currency, lack of basic infrastructure/social amenities and incessant corrupt practices to mention but a few. In all these trending challenges, the need for the role of science entrepreneurship to balance up or cushion these effects cannot be over-emphasised. In a country where unemployment rates has escalated more than the global permissible rates, there should be speedy alternatives to bring on means of livelihoods. The speedy alternatives may be the application of science to learn vocational skills such as tailoring, cosmetology, cosmetic, production of paints, baking of doughs, agricultural practices etc., all these should be done through apprenticeship and mentorship. After the apprenticeship and mentorship processes, one may set up his or her own small business (i.e., small and medium enterprise scales, SMEs) and be self-employed and self-reliant as well as creating jobs to the teaming unemployed youths, therefore contributing to the growth of the economy. This is known as science entrepreneurship. The best and preliminary way of achieving science entrepreneurship is through the ingraining of it from primary to tertiary curricula or syllabi as well as enforcement of more practical, trades and exhibitions that incorporate forty percentages (40%) of academic learnings at all levels. Nevertheless, science entrepreneurial trainings should also be extended to graduate service programmes such as National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) where every graduates within the age brackets of serving his/her father land (Nigeria) for a period of one year and those who have been exempted or excluded from serving due to their above age limits are expected to learn at least one entrepreneurial trade right from the orientation camp straight to the community development service (CDS) centre. This should be through the extension of the already begun entrepreneurial trades right from their undergraduates’ programmes. Thereafter, Government should fund/support them at the end of these trainings to help them in establishing their own small scale businesses or companies which thus creates jobs to teaming unemployed youths and also reduce the activities of juvenile delinquencies as well as contributing to the growth of the economy. To make this a reality, Government at all levels should include in her already existing ministerial or commissioning cabinets, the ministry of / or commissioner for science and entrepreneurial technology which shall oversees and monitors the progress of science entrepreneur at all levels of education.