Abstract:
Entrepreneurship education is becoming a key way to spark innovation, boost job
prospects, and support sustainable growth. But in Sri Lanka, especially in public
universities, Researcher doesn’t know enough about how well it actually works. This
study looks at how entrepreneurship education affects the entrepreneurial intentions
of students at Rajarata University, where many graduates struggle to find jobs and
few start their own businesses, showing a clear gap between wanting to be an
entrepreneur and actually doing it. The problem is that there’s little local evidence on
how things like theoretical knowledge, practical training, mentorship, entrepreneurial
mindset development, and university support for entrepreneurship turn into a real
desire to start a business. The study uses a straightforward, numbers-based approach,
collecting data from 369 students at Rajarata University through a detailed
questionnaire. Researcher picked students randomly but made sure to include
different groups fairly. Using stats like averages, correlations, and regression,
Researcher tested how different parts of entrepreneurship education, like learning
theory, practicing skills, getting mentored, developing a go-getter mindset, and
having university backing, affect students’ confidence, willingness to take risks, and
desire to launch a business. The results show that all these parts of entrepreneurship
education positively boost students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The biggest impact
comes from developing an entrepreneurial mindset, which suggests that changing
how students think and feel about entrepreneurship matters more than just teaching
technical skills. This study adds to our understanding by applying the Theory of
Planned Behaviour to a Sri Lankan university setting and offers practical ideas for
improving courses, supporting start-up incubators, and shaping policies to build a
stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem.
