Development of community based entrepreneurial skills: A case study: UWS SIFE

• Main Authors: Whitton, Diana, Fonacier, Rosel Corazon N., Mueller, Jens
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: Business incubators—Australia—Sydney; Entrepreneurship—Australia—Sydney; Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/5128
• Institution: De La Salle University

At the University of Western Sydney Students in Free Enterprise [SIFE] was introduced in 2002 to students in all colleges. The SIFE team is under the auspices of the Office of Regional Development and part of the university's cooperative programs scheme. The team works under the guidance of a university mentor. For the past three years the university has entered a team in the annual championship which highlights the community based entrepreneurial activities of the students. A diverse ranged of projects had been undertaken with a mixed level of success, both in the community and in the national competition. A new team was formed in 2004 who were not from the traditional business colleges rather from education and health. The team achieved both success in the community but also in the national competition when they were placed third. The focus of this case study is on the 2004/5 teams' development and the community programs implemented. The programs will be highlighted in relation to the development of the skills of both the team participants and the community members involved. The personal and professional development of the university students is examined in relation to their university study. A six-phase process for formulating a team project for students has evolved. The students follow this system to work as part of the SIFE team. With the success of the 2004 team UWS SIFE will be introduced as part of an academic unit, in 2006, which will introduce additional learning skills. These modules have been developed to meet the individual needs of the students in developing their community based programs. The modules may be undertaken at any time during the six stages process as they are available to students to take in their own time by themselves or working with other team members. The work completed in the modules is not grades rather they are assess for the level of understanding the student attains from completing the work.