How Australia’s leading young university fosters entrepreneurship
Quality education creates the jobs of tomorrow
We’ve all seen the rapid rate of disruption and innovation in our workplaces, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Many traditional jobs are disappearing, while we see new roles emerge. Even just five years from now, more than one-third of skills considered essential for today’s workforce will have changed, according to the Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum. A recent article in Forbes magazine listed problem solving, system change, innovation, and entrepreneurship as the paramount skills of the next century.
Entrepreneurial skills in high demand
One thing is certain. As a society and an economy, we will need entrepreneurs – people who have what it takes to start, run, and grow a business. In today’s terms, entrepreneurship demands a distinctive mindset that encompasses a range of skills, including creative problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, resilience, and communication. These are skills that will continue to be in high demand while the world around us changes.
The same is true outside Australia. In his recent column in the Sri Lanka Daily Financial Times , Dr Nirmal De Silva, Board Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network Sri Lanka said, “It is evident that for Sri Lanka to progress in the future we need to place a strong emphasis on developing entrepreneurship.
This requires improving the skills and knowledge levels of people on how to set up and run an entrepreneurial venture.”
Opening doors to a variety of opportunities
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia’s number one young university, encourages students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and build a portfolio of skills and experiences that will open doors to a variety of employment or project opportunities.
More than 40 percent of students at UTS want to create their own jobs or start their own companies , so equipping them with the tools to become entrepreneurs is critical to their success. That’s why UTS offers an on-campus start-up incubator, a founding partnership with Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, and a range of internships and scholarship opportunities.
Murray Hurps, Director of Entrepreneurship at UTS says, “Every day my team and I are working to help our students understand what entrepreneurship allows them to do. To take the first steps and grow what they start. We do this for the benefit of our students and for the benefit of our society. Our future jobs and prosperity depend on these new companies being started. Our students are entering a world that is changing faster than it ever has before, and it’s our responsibility to make sure they are equipped to adapt and thrive. Our students can’t be what they can’t see. We need more people to see what entrepreneurship can allow them to be.”
The UTS campus in Sydney, Australia in the city’s growing education, innovation and creative hub, at the edge of the Central Business District. This provides many opportunities to interact with Sydney’s thriving start-up scene – a planned Silicon Valley style hub. The university’s commitment to future-focused learning is reflected in the design of the campus, and state-of-the-art facilities that give staff, students and researchers access to cuttingedge technologies.
This hub also reflects UTS’s ambition to provide more than 50 percent of students with entrepreneurial experiences and support, including boot camps, start-up weekends, internships, and other industry opportunities.
Student Vanouhi Nazarian founded her start-up, Kindershare, with support from UTS Start-ups. She says the emphasis on developing entrepreneurial skills provided fertile ground. “The old style of thinking about what university is has changed quite a lot,” she says. “There is a lot at university now to help support you through an entrepreneurial journey. Subjects are more relevant and commercially focused.”
The journey can begin in Colombo
Students can begin their pathway to a degree from Australia’s number one young university at UTS Sri Lanka. Degree pathways (diplomas) include the Diploma of Business, Diploma of Engineering, and Diploma of Information Technology.
Courses also on offer include English language programs developing a university-ready level of academic English and UTS Foundation Studies, suitable for students with O-Levels looking to gain the skills for further academic study), Written in partnership with UTS, the diploma pathways come with a guaranteed* place at UTS in Sydney after students complete the equivalent of firstyear in Colombo. Students who successfully complete UTS Foundation Studies can gain entrance to many UTS undergraduate degrees, including Health Sciences, Nursing, Business, IT, and Engineering.
Enrolments underway now
A new semester at UTS Sri Lanka begins on 2 November, with Orientation during the week commencing 26 October. This presents a unique opportunity for local students to prepare for success at UTS, Australia’s top ranking young university. Students whose plans may have been affected by current international travel restrictions can commence their courses very soon, right here in Colombo – with the security of knowing they’re on a pathway to complete their studies at UTS when travel reopens. To find out more about courses available at UTS Sri Lanka, and how to enrol visit insearch.edu.lk/experienceor call 0774 775 774.
UTS is a dynamic and innovative university, ranked as Australia’s top young university, and 133rd in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2021, reflecting its strength in employability, research, teaching, and internationalisation.
UTS Sri Lanka prepares students for entry to all UTS undergraduate courses though the UTS Foundation Studies Program and offers a Diploma of Business, a Diploma of Engineering and a Diploma of IT. When students complete their first year at UTS Sri Lanka, they are ready to complete their UTS degree in Sydney. *subject to results and course chosen and no more than two
subject failures.