Designing a Strategic Model of Entrepreneurial Competencies of Students of Guilan University of Applied Sciences

Abstract

Purpose: The main purpose of this research was to design a strategic model for the development of entrepreneurship competencies of students of the University of Applied Sciences. Methodology: The present study was applied in terms of the purpose and qualitative in terms of the research method employed. The research population included the academic experts of Gilan University of Applied Sciences in the academic year of 2020-21, 17 of whom were selected based on the theoretical saturation method and purposefully. The research tool was a semi-structured interview, which was used to validate the findings from the re-review strategy by the researcher and formal validity (university professors) and for reliability, the coding agreement coefficient of two coders was used, which was 0.89. For data analysis, coding using thematic analysis method was used in MAXQDA19 software. Findings: The findings showed that 115 initial themes, 12 central themes and 3 optional themes were identified for the strategic model of developing students' entrepreneurial competencies; So that the chosen themes included passion strategy (venture capital, innovation and high growth), ability (competition, technology absorption, human capital and new opportunities) and orientation strategy (opportunity understanding, risk-taking, cultural support, networking and skill). Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that the planners of the university system, on the one hand, should motivate and encourage and remove financial and structural obstacles to increase and develop the entrepreneurial skills of students, and on the other hand, they should focus on empowering entrepreneurs and the cultural and social contexts of entrepreneurship