Dubai, March 12th, 2023: Canadian University Dubai (CUD) Professor Naveed Yasin (Head of Creative Industries) and Mrs. Gayatri Nair (Teaching Assistant, Department of Creative Industries) presented a conference paper: “Am I also an entrepreneur? Determining the Efficacy of Enterprise Education in the Creative Industries: A Canadian University Dubai Perspective. The paper was presented at the 1st International Conference on Management, Economics and Social Science (ICMESS, 2023), hosted by the Maharaja Ranjit Singh University (India) and University of Tehran (Iran), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Professor Yasin and Mrs. Nair were awarded the "Best Empirical Paper Award" in the Entrepreneurship track for their study's originality and academic contribution to the field of entrepreneurship education. Mrs. Nair presented the paper at the international conference, marking her first such presentation.
The results of this study, which used mixed methods, indicated enhancements in all key enterprising characteristics among the total sample population of Creative Industries (CI) students at the Canadian University Dubai. However, there were specific variations due to the specializations of the pathways, which included students from Media Business (MB), Communication (COM), and Interior Design (ID). The novelty of this study is inherent in its concentration on atypical business student groups, the use of an innovative framework (PERI) for the qualitative data analysis, and the empirical investigation of an underexplored researched area and geographical context.
This study has implications for various groups such as academics, industry practitioners of CI, academic researchers, and stakeholders in the CI ecosystem. Additionally, the study contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (#9), which focuses on industry, innovation, and infrastructure. This Sustainable Development Goal emphasizes the importance of building resilient infrastructures, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.
According to Dr. Yasin, the motivation behind this study is clear. “As educators in the business world, we've long recognized the significance of delivering entrepreneurial education, skills and knowledge in Higher Education Institutions to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurial graduates for the rapidly evolving Creative Industries. However, it's equally crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of such knowledge by examining how students apply their learning in real-world scenarios.”
Mrs. Gayatri Nair, a former CUD graduate, joined the Department of Creative Industries in 2022 as a Full-Time Teaching Assistant in Entrepreneurship. She has published several papers with Professor Yasin. Gayatri spoke about her experience: “The valuable experience I have learnt under the guidance of Prof. Naveed has expanded my knowledge significantly. I am proud to have become a published author and grateful to have chosen Canadian University Dubai as my academic institution, which fosters a culture of excellence in applied research, teaching, and enterprise excellence.”
Following this achievement, the authors plan to further advance this study for publication in a Scopus-indexed journal and utilize the insights gained to enhance the pedagogy of entrepreneurship education.
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