Innovative ideas from youths helps nurture entrepreneurial culture, says scholar

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Young people should be encouraged to ask questions and come up with their own new innovative ideas to transform their dreams into reality as this will help to nurture the entrepreneurial culture in higher education, a scholar said here today.

"Give them (students in higher education) a space to prove their ideas and deal with it using the team building approach....we should allow their own innovative thinking and at the same time look for improvements in people's lives," said visiting professor at Asia-Europe Institute, University Malaya, Professor Reimund Sidelmann.

Sidelmann, who is also former political science professor of Giessen University, Germany, said people should particularly support the spirit of improving innovative thinking, saying "you don't have to be rich in order to become an entrepreneur."

"Entrepreneurship must start from the primary school level whereby students are given the opportunity to have independent thinking towards certain issues and are able to put their ideas into the right track," he told Bernama after being a panelist at the "Seminar on Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: Increasing Competitiveness, Enhancing Resilience", here.

Meanwhile, the president of University of Wales, United Kingdom, Professor Marc Clement said every university had the ability to help their countries generate economic growth through knowledge economy.

"In universities, we have the access to those who have talents in subjects such as global perspective, multi-disciplinary environment, entrepreneurial mindset and open innovation approach, which can help to develop young entrepreneurs," said Clement, who was also a panelist.

Another panelist, former Malaysian cabinet minister Tan Sri Sanusi Junid said young entrepreneurs must have five values, namely honesty, being clean, disciplined, diligent and loyalty to be successful.

The two-day seminar, which began today, is being attended by 300 participants comprising students and lecturers from various local universities.

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