Only about one in 10 college students at South Korea’s 4 elite science and expertise institutes, together with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), stated they’d pursue entrepreneurship, a brand new survey discovered. While most college students acknowledge the necessity for startups, issues over failure and profession setbacks are conserving them from taking the plunge.
According to a survey launched Wednesday by the Entrepreneurship Development Center of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), solely 10.9% of 302 respondents stated they’d select entrepreneurship as a profession path. The survey, carried out by polling agency Mono Research, lined college students and graduate college students at the 4 main science institutes — KAIST, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST). “Academia and research institutions” was the preferred profession selection at 39.4%, adopted by “employment at large corporations” (25.5%) and “professional occupations” (18.9%).
A hanging 87.7% of respondents stated STEM entrepreneurship is critical, revealing a large hole between perceived want and precise intent. The FKI stated college students really feel a heavy burden from the dangers related to startup failure. The most cited cause for not contemplating or making an attempt a startup was “psychological and financial risk of failure” (28.3%), adopted by “the burden of giving up stable employment opportunities” (26.4%). Many respondents stated startup failure would negatively have an effect on their future job prospects.
“Students at science institutes tend to perceive that relatively stable career paths are guaranteed to them, so they weigh the risks and opportunity costs of startup failure more carefully,” stated Kim Min-ki, a professor at KAIST. “For these students, the experience of attempting a startup and failing seems to be perceived less as a process of building resilience or accumulating capabilities, and more as a risk factor that could cost them stable income and career progression.”
Respondents referred to as for stronger entrepreneurship schooling to elevate consciousness and unfold profitable startup circumstances in order to promote STEM entrepreneurship. Among particular instructional matters, demand was highest for “commercialization and fundraising” (35.9%), suggesting a necessity for sensible coaching on turning analysis outcomes into viable companies — schooling that may tangibly scale back the likelihood of failure. “Innovative thinking and problem-solving (idea generation)” (29.6%) and “startup team building and talent management” (19.2%) additionally drew robust demand.
Government-level institutional reforms are additionally urgently wanted to guarantee startup failure doesn’t turn into an insurmountable threat. “It is important to build safety nets that can convert failures in the startup process into assets for a second attempt,” stated Ji Sang-cheol, head of the Sejong Startup Support Center at Korea University. “When policies that mitigate risk — such as support for re-entrepreneurship, pathways back to academic studies, and institutional protections for failure records — are implemented in parallel, students’ willingness to take on the challenge will meaningfully increase.”