Prof. Keolebogile Shirley Motaung, Biomedical Scientist and Assistant Dean: Research, Innovation and Engagement of Science at the Tshwane University of Technology. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Health Biotech (Pty) Ltd, and President of the African Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society.

Education in innovation and entrepreneurship has become part of Universities of Technologies (UoTs) with the aim of turning more graduates from job seekers to job creators. CUT constantly seeks to build an engaged, purposeful, innovative and entrepreneurial University of Technology, a university that takes a step further to contribute towards empowering its graduates to help develop the city and the region.

From 03 to 05 April 2019, the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies (CEES) in the Faculty of Management Sciences hosted the 2^nd International Conference on Entrepreneurship Development (ICED) under the theme: Sustainable Entrepreneurship Development for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The purpose of the conference was to support the research agenda in entrepreneurship in the central region, promote entrepreneurship and Internationalisation within CUT and promote the institution and its participation in the 4th industrial revolution. The conference also aims to bring together academics, researchers and professionals to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of entrepreneurship and development for the 4^th Industrial Revolution.

The keynote speaker Prof. Larry Dwyer, PhD Visiting Research Professor, School of Business, University of Technology, Sydney; Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana and Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) in Griffith University, based his presentation on the role of social entrepreneurship in tourism planning.

He defined entrepreneurship as the process of creating value by bringing together a unique package of resources to create or exploit market opportunities. He said that in the knowledge-driven economy this process is critical in both large and small businesses. “Entrepreneurship plays a critical role in tourism development. Entrepreneurs identify opportunities for tourism development, take risks in the phase of uncertainty, open new markets, new product development and innovation. All these activities are part of an entrepreneurial approach to tourism operation and tourism development.”

He also said that entrepreneurship was key to economic growth, productivity gains, job creations and tourism. “Worldwide tourism is associated with large growth in the number of travels and the expenditure. Expenditure of tourists is more important than numbers; more numbers create environmental and social costs. The key factor determining tourism growth is increasing income and wealth.”

Prof. Dwyer also spoke about social entrepreneurship as a process where social, environmental or humanitarian goals are sought alongside business goals. “Business enterprises are potentially important contributors to the social and environmental development of communities, societies and destinations. Social entrepreneurs can advance the knowledge of business models that support sustainable tourism development, and this is a neglected area of research that demands our immediate attention.”

Prof. Keolebogile Shirley Motaung, another keynote speaker, encouraged postgraduate students to be job creators instead of job seekers and start businesses from their research work. “As parents and academics, we need to change our mindset and start encouraging our children to get an education and become entrepreneurs. I wish someone would have told me to get a degree and create jobs, but now our parents encourage us to do otherwise. Becoming an entrepreneur is not a walk in the park, it requires hard work, vision, purpose, perseverance and passion.”

She further highlighted on the systems that do not support and empower students to be entrepreneurial and said that “Universities of Technologies (UoTs) are always criticised when they are actually supposed to be leading and this is merely because of the system. The template used by research students for their proposal is only good for publishing; it does not empower them to create jobs for themselves. It is up to us as academics to decide whether we still continue to train students to wear their red gowns and struggle or help them to get their hands-on-deck. Where they usually talk about problem statement, we need to replace it with value proposition. She also shared some of the important things missing in the template such as customer segments, customer channels, customer relationships, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, cost structure and revenue streams.”

Prof. Motaung said another thing that prevents graduates and researchers from advancing is the start-up company hurdles which are not discussed in proposal templates. She mentioned factors such as concept development, obtaining seed funding, obtaining substantial funding, securing Intellectual Property, recruiting experienced management and experienced non-management personnel, obtaining space for operations, developing strategy and managing development focus. “Incubators needs to be established in the university to assist with commercialisation. Allow students to translate their ideas into commercialisation by not threatening them that the IP belongs to the university. Have that MoU between students and supervisor, should the supervisor not be interested then students should be given that opportunity. Start incorporating entrepreneurship into the curriculum, “she concluded.

Prof. Keolebogile Shirley Motaung is a Biomedical Scientist and Assistant Dean of Research, Innovation and Engagement in the Faculty of Science at the Tshwane University of Technology. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Health Biotech (Pty) Ltd, and President of the African Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society.

The event was proudly sponsored by DESTEA, Great Zimbabwe University, FNB, Pearson, Van Schaik, National University of Lesotho and Juta publishers.

Dr Thabo Mokoena Chief Director: Integrated Economic Planning, DESTEA, Prof. Crispen Chipunza, Assistant Dean: Research Innovation and Engagement, Prof. Dennis Dzansi, HoD: Business Support Studies, Prof. Alfred Ngowi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement, Prof. Larry Dwyer, PhD Visiting Research Professor, School of Business, University of Technology, Sydney, Prof. Tshedi Naong, Head of the Department: Business Management and Prof. Albert Strydom, Dean: Faculty of Management Sciences.