ANALYZING THE CHALLENGES OF LEARNING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PROJECTS

Povzetek

Globalisation and democratisation have given entrepreneurship and innovation a new dimension in the last decade. Entrepreneurs possess the capability and ambition to create, manage, and thrive in a new enterprise, including the associated risks, to generate profits. Current empirical research on entrepreneurship acknowledges that the primary problem for emerging countries is the transition to entrepreneurial societies. This perspective necessitates the participation of multiple stakeholders (universities, government, investors, entrepreneurs, etc.) in this evolutionary process. In this context, governments in emerging economies foster the development of entrepreneurial communities to facilitate this shift. Libyan educational institutions face many problems that prevent the teaching and implementation of innovative thinking and entrepreneurship, and the development of entrepreneurial activities. The results of this research can expand higher education entities' ability to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in society. This will help institutions address their challenges in this space and thus increase the number of successful entrepreneurship projects. It also presents solutions to these issues, helping higher education institutions improve their training and educational programs in entrepreneurship and innovation. The present descriptive-analytical research examines the entrepreneurship and innovation issues in Libyan higher education institutions and the impact of these problems on entrepreneurial project development and support. The study population consisted of all students in the 2022–2023 academic year. A simple random selection was used to sample 81 students. The results suggest that both mediating variables (learning skills in entrepreneurship and improving the supportive environment for entrepreneurship) play significant roles in the relationships between learning entrepreneurship and innovation, and between the development and support of entrepreneurial projects.