From Intention to Innovation: Exploring the Influence of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes on Startup Ecosystem Participation Among College Students in South Kerala

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has become a key engine for innovation, job creation and economic development, prompting higher education institutions to enhance entrepreneurship education and facilitate startup ecosystems among students. This paper explores the impact of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) in enhancing the entrepreneurial skills and involvement in the startup ecosystem of college students in South Kerala. The research design is descriptive and explanatory research with a quantitative research approach. Primary data was collected from 300 undergraduate and postgraduate students of Government, Aided and Self-financing colleges in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam with the help of a structured questionnaire. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s correlation and simple linear regression analysis. The findings revealed that there were significant differences in students’ awareness and participation in Entrepreneurship Development Programmes based on demographic characteristics. The study also found that Entrepreneurship Development Programmes have significant positive influence on the development of entrepreneurial skills and that entrepreneurial skill development significantly improves students’ participation in activities of the start-up ecosystem such as incubation programmes, mentoring, networking and innovation initiatives. The study finds that Entrepreneurship Development Programmes are effective in developing entrepreneurial competencies and in fostering greater engagement with the start-up ecosystem among college students. The findings have significant implications for higher education institutions, policy makers and entrepreneurship promotion agencies to strengthen entrepreneurship education and develop a more vibrant startup ecosystem in Kerala.