ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG GRADUATES: REALITY AND PROSPECTS IN TERTIARY EDUCATION

During the past decade, entrepreneurship has become a commonly taught issue in universities all over the world. More specifically, the question addressed is whether graduates are seriously interested in establishing their own businesses.The present article focuses on a study of the entrepreneurial activities of the Higher Educational Institute graduates in Greece. Five issues were investigated:- the relationship of one’s studies with the economic activity of his/her business,- the usefulness of knowledge/skills attained during the course of studies,- the span of time between graduation and the start up of the enterprise,- the source(s) of financing used to startup a business- the degree of satisfaction with one’s career and the financial performance of his/her business. A random proportional stratified sampling of 249 graduates-from two different years- was selected. Preliminary findings are presented in this paper showing the current situation in the areas mentioned above. The conclusions can be used both in the evaluation of the current system concerning entrepreneurship as well as in the formation of new strategies in the entrepreneurship in tertiary education. Key Words: Entrepreneurship, Tertiary Education, Intentions Entrepreneurship as a research field attracts the interest of many researchers because it is a tool of development for many economies in the world. The investigation of the factors that lead