Description
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is an exciting time to be an engineer. In recent decades, the civil engineering workforce has helped the United States make substantial advances in communications, health, defense, infrastructure, and manufacturing (Blue et al. 2005), and the time between the emergence of new technologies and their implementation has steadily declined (Kurzweil 2001). Opportunities and challenges continue to require Civil engineers to literally invent the future by developing breakthrough infrastructures that solve global problems and enhance the quality of life. Ongoing innovation is required to address pressing problems and to maintain Americas global competitiveness, and civil engineering is the foundation of much of that innovation. To be prepared to enter the workforce and thrive in this ever changing global economy, civil engineers need to be able to collaborate effectively as leaders, in teams, and with their peers. In addition to their technical and analytical expertise, they need to be flexible, resilient, creative, empathetic, and have the ability to recognize and seize opportunities (NAE 2004; Sheppard et al. 2008). All of these skills can and should be taught to civil engineers as part of their formal education. It is thus the responsibility of civil engineering educators to instill these qualities in students to enable them to be more innovative and entrepreneurial. In this research work, we shall examine the role of civil engineering in the development of entrepreneurship in Nigeria as well as the importance of entrepreneurship studies to civil engineering students, national support for entrepreneurship, student and faculty attitudes and engagement, noteworthy programs, and early research on these initiatives. We then offer our perspective on the future landscape for innovation and entrepreneurship in civil engineering.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The role of civil engineering as a tool for entrepreneurship development cannot be overlooked. This study focus on how civil engineering serve as a tool for entrepreneurship development and the need of civil engineers becoming entrepreneurial in order to understand and contribute in the context of market and pressures. Civil engineer students should put more importance to entrepreneurship studies to give the knowledge, tools, and attitudes that are required to identify opportunities and bring them to life.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this research work are:
1. To examine the relationship between civil engineering and entrepreneurship.
2. To ascertain the importance of entrepreneurship to civil engineering students.
3. To determine the level of importance given to entrepreneurship studies in Civil engineering department.
4. To examine how civil engineering serve as a tool for entrepreneurship development.
5. To examine the degree of national support for entrepreneurship programme.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following are research questions that the study sought to answer in order to reach adequately reasoned conclusions:
1. Is there any relationship between civil engineering and entrepreneurship studies?
2. What is the importance of entrepreneurship to civil engineering?
3. What is the level of importance given to entrepreneurship studies in civil engineering department?
4. How does civil engineering serve as a tool for entrepreneurship development?
5. What is the degree of national support for entrepreneurship programme?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It was hoped that the findings of the study would reveal some significant roles of civil engineering in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. The findings of the study is significant in its attempt in bringing out the causes of the downfall of entrepreneurship in Nigeria as well as the measures to be taken to reduce it.
1.6 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
It is designed to study the civil engineering department of the Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa. Due to the problem of time and money, the researcher may also encounter certain other limitations such as the problem of having to manage class work with the research work as well as the problem of gathering enough materials for the study. But in spite of this, the researcher will make sure that all this problems are managed well in order to come up with a good result that can be a plus to the area of study.