Enhancing Student Engagement Through Enterprise Education at Palestine Polytechnic University

TOWARDS SYSTEMISING AND OPERATIONALISING STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT THROUGH ENTERPRISE EDUCATION PLATFORM: CREATIVITY & ENTREPRENEURSHIP BA PROGRAM CASE STUDY AMJAD J. M. ALNATSHEH PALESTINE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY E-mail: ANTSHEH@PPU.EDU Tel: 00970599879598 1/8/2019

Enterprising Platform & Workplacement Enterprising Platform: which contained several questionnaires to measure student entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial competencies advancement. The questionnaires can be accessed electronically by students on semester base. Work-placement: students have to serve four days at work-place/company and one day at the university. The idea was implemented last year, and students have received an intensive mentoring and feedback throughout the semester during their weekly meetings with the sandwich program coordinator.

Objectives: Equip students with entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial competencies especially at behavioral level. Provide program management and stakeholders with database needed for evaluating and promoting their targeted programs. Make teaching and learning more entertaining. Developing new interacting model between Universities and Labor market. Strengthen the relationship between University and Labor market. Draw academic staff attention to a range of practical indicators to measure students engagement.

Problem: High unemployment rate amongst graduates and only 16 percent of youth have fully transitioned into the labor market (World Bank: Assistance Strategy for the period FY18-21). As a part of people accountability to the government, there is more calls for Government intervention for quality assurance of Palestinian Universities graduates outcomes. More calls for higher education institutions adopting student-centered approach. The average level of PPU s student engagement is between low to moderate. The need for effective mechanisms to prepare students for labor market by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills and behaviors.

Materials and Methods Weekly 2-3 hours meeting between students and working-place coordinator. The meeting Agenda was formed to address emerged problems and opportunities. Students Engagement Questionnaire was designed and became accessible on-line by official students university email for 3rdyear students to measure the last semester student engagement behaviors. The questionnaire items, structure and scale was taking from Australasian Survey for Student Engagement. 14 students filled the first questionnaire by the end of first semester and the same people re-filled the same Students Engagement Questionnaire by the end of successive semester. The data were analyzed by SPSS.

Results: Results indicate that students became better equipped with entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial competencies. Competencies like better understand others views, knowing our strengths and weaknesses and learning new ways are particularly having major advancement. Some values are negative (looking for job) and this can be explained by having job security as they engaged in work-placement.

Conclusion: The new suggested model between Universities and Labor market proved to be effective method for equipping students with entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial competencies needed for student transition to labor market. We strongly advice PPU management and other Palestinian University to adopt the Enterprising Platform contents and spread its use to cover all their programs. The questionnaire results should be widely disseminated, followed by a series of stakeholders meetings and discussions especially the Program Advisory Committee and it should be a base for future suggestions improvement of any program.

Item stem 1st semester % 2nd semester % Change % Always 0 14 14 Often 29 50 21 1. Examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own views on a topic or issue Total 29 64 35 Always 14 21 7 Often 50 58 8 1. Improved knowledge and skills that will contribute to your employability Total 64 79 15 Always 21 29 8 Often 43 43 0 1. Developed communication skills relevant to yourdiscipline Total 64 72 8 Always 21 29 8 Often 50 50 0 1. Explored how to apply your learning in theworkplace Total 71 79 8 Always 14 14 0 Often 36 79 43 1. Tried to better understand someone else's views by imagining howan issue looks from theirperspective Total 50 93 43 Always 7 36 29 Often 50 57 7 1. Learned something that changed the way you understand an issue or concept Total 57 93 36 Always 21 29 8 Often 58 64 6 1. Spent time keeping your resumeup-to-date Total 79 93 14 Always 29 36 7 Often 64 64 0 1. Thought about how present yourself to potentialemployers Total 93 100 7 Always 14 29 15 Often 79 57 - 22 1. Explored where to look for jobs relevant to yourinterests Total 93 86 - 7 Always 14 50 36 Often 43 36 - 7 1. Used networking to source information on jobopportunities Total 57 86 29 Always 29 36 7 Often 36 50 14 1. Set career development goals andplans Total 65 86 21