There is one question which always comes up when you are a student in the last year of your study in the university: what company do you plan to work?
In today’s world, the competition to get a job in big companies is harder than ever. The requirements for employment are higher every times, demanding students to master many qualifications suitable for the jobs. For example is the ability in English language. Almost all big companies ask their employees to have English proficiency, since it is used in the global business environment.
The competition is exacerbated by centralized businesses and industries spread in the capital and big cities. These have become magnets which pull almost all the best human resources from the regions. Inevitably, the condition cause the imbalance development between the centers and other regions which responsible in social welfare inequity within the societies. Yet the resources which are needed by the businesses and industries come from these regions.
Each region has unique resources, natural and cultural, which are not found in other regions. Let us examine our local resources, in our ’home’; there are abundant potentials which are waiting to be exploited for the benefit of society. Let see Yeosu for example. We have such strategic geographic location for international hub in business and industrial trade. The ocean and its contents can provide enormous natural resources, yet they have not been developed optimally. The cultures, with many beautiful and historical places, can be great potentials for tourism. And the most important resources are its people, including the students as young generation. They are the driving forces for the development.
The question then is, how all of those resources can be actualized and bring the benefit for the society, especially for Yeosu people and all the country. At this point, we badly in need of science and technology. And to master them, we need education. Here is the point where university role is the most important. In fact, the university is the only appropriate institution which responsible to answer the challenges.
Change of Mindset
To take the students interest back to their own local development, we need changes in our mindset. Having a carrier in big companies is not the only choice for works. There are bigger challenges and probably higher benefits offered than employment in big cities. And the most important, their works are highly needed by and give more values to the society they are living with. We may call the choice ‘local entrepreneurships’
It is not true that local businesses and industries are less challenging and not competitive. In fact, experiences form industrialized countries indicate that big companies which are well-known globally today came from small and local business units which develop into what they are today. Microsoft Corporation which is owned by the richest man in the world today, Bill Gates, was started by him and his partner Paul Allen from small company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Or, Pizza Hut which came from small kiosk in Wichita, Texas and brought to almost every countries in the world today by Dan and Frank Chaney. Furthermore, the local entrepreneurships, which most of them are small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the economy and help many countries, including Korea to recover from their economy crisis a decade ago.
At this point, the students should change their mindset and may proudly pronounce them as ‘student today, entrepreneur tomorrow’, and we may see the bright future, not only for them, but also for the societies they are living with.
The Role of Local Universities
The local universities, with embedded capacity in understanding potentials of their regions, should take the central role to develop local entrepreneurship. These universities have the best resources to do the function. They are the place for science and technology research and development. They have the best human resources, their professors, researchers and the students, infrastructure supports and scientific cultures to actualize the potentials through collaborative efforts. With all the abilities, local universities should identify local potentials which can be developed into competitive business units, not only in local or national levels, but also in the world.
The local universities are the focal point in the efforts to develop students’ abilities in local entrepreneurship. In fact, the students will be the future local entrepreneurs. To perform this function, the universities should encourage their students to enhance their competitiveness, in term of entrepreneurship. Integration of entrepreneurship skills, project managements, and business analysis to their curriculum is one of the efforts.
Empowerment of students in the creation of technology innovation for local industries by means of internship programs is another way to take. The existing internship programs with big industries which have been widely applied can be established also with local industries. Innovations created by the internship students with the guidance of university’s researchers are more accepted and easier to be implemented in local industries with more flexible operations than they are in big industries. Fresh and creative ideas from the internship students can lead to innovation and improvement of the business processes. And of course, these programs promote entrepreneurship among the students who able to learn more comprehensive business processes in local industries than in big industries.
From the academic point of view, the collaboration between local universities and industries requires the universities to perform science and technology research and development. The focus of these efforts should be given to appropriate science and technology development, suitable with local needs and resources. However, notes should be taken that local science and technology development does not always mean practical science or low technology. Instead, they can take form in advance and cutting-edge science and technology, as long as they are in accordance with local industries demand and resources. Silicon Valley and Stanford University is one of good examples. The development may also be synchronized with local or central government policy for the region, such as New University for Regional Innovation program in Korea. Again, the students can take benefit from this function. Through their involvements in the research and development activities, students can get the opportunity to enhance their expertise in their respective fields, which in turn will increase their competitiveness.
The functions of local universities to enhance students’ competitiveness in term of entrepreneurship addressed above require cooperation from all parties, i.e. the universities, industries, government, the society, and the most important, the students themselves. Now, is our turn, as students, to enhance our competitiveness, to answer the problems facing our society today, to take the challenge: will you be an entrepreneur? Will you bring the best from our home to the world? I will.
For Chonnam Tribune, Dec 07
