The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education in Developing Soft Skills for Students from Non-Economic Faculties

IDEALUS (Innovation and Development through Entrepreneurial Activities for Learning University Students) was a project organized through the program Entrepreneurial University and was sponsored by Romanian-American Foundation. IDEALUS was designed to implement an Entrepreneurial Program and a Psychological program for students from non-economic faculties. The main objective of the project was the development of soft skills, meaning a set of interpersonal attributes needed for success in the professional field. A sample of 50 students enrolled in the project was assessed with a survey, put together by the authors, on the following directions: communication skills, creativity, self-confidence, social skills, assertiveness, leadership, negotiation and critical thinking. The survey was based on psychological consecrated tests, like BASC-2 (Behavior Assessment System for Children), ABCD-M (Big Five Questionnaire) and Cognitrom Assessment System and it was applied before and after the implementation of the activities in the project. The hypotheses we tested presumed the existence of significant differences between the two assessments regarding the above listed soft skills. Results show a statistically significant improvement only in creativity and leadership, while the other variables, although increased in value, showed no significant differences between the two assessments. Results are discussed in the end in the context of the benefits of the implementation of entrepreneurial activities for student’s personal and professional development