The office of the deputy dean for teaching and learning in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences recently hosted a dynamic Entrepreneurship Breakfast themed “Ideas Without Borders” across all three North-West University (NWU) campuses.
The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including lecturers, academic staff and institutional partners from various faculties, creating a vibrant platform for dialogue on embedding entrepreneurship in the university environment.
The session positioned entrepreneurship not as an added responsibility, but as a strategic enabler that can enhance existing academic work. Participants explored how entrepreneurial thinking can be integrated into teaching, research and community engagement to amplify impact without increasing workload.
A central focus of the engagement was to strengthen collaboration across faculties. Discussions highlighted how siloed approaches often lead to the duplication of efforts, limiting the overall impact of the institution. By identifying key touchpoints for collaboration, the session emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts to maximise resources, streamline initiatives and build a more cohesive entrepreneurial ecosystem in the university.
Dr Johann Landsberg, manager of the bhive Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), underscored the purpose of the breakfast as creating awareness and alignment across faculties. He explained that the bhive EDC exists to support faculties by providing structured entrepreneurship development, thereby reducing inefficiencies and duplication.
“The main purpose of the event was to promote the bhive EDC across all the NWU faculties. Faculties often work in silos, which results in duplication and inefficiencies. Our aim is to make colleagues aware of what the bhive EDC offers so that we can support and streamline entrepreneurship-related activities across the institution,” he said.
Dr Landsberg further highlighted that the bhive EDC plays a critical role in lightening the entrepreneurship education load by offering programmes, mentorship and access to external partnerships that faculties can integrate into their existing work.
Dr Annelie Steenkamp reinforced the importance of collaboration and alignment, noting that the conversations created valuable opportunities to connect initiatives across faculties. She emphasised that shared understanding and cooperation are essential to building an effective and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem that benefits both students and communities.
Attendees were also introduced to the broader support landscape, including Technology Transfer and Innovation Support and NWU Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. These partners contribute to fostering innovation by supporting research commercialisation, facilitating industry links and enhancing student employability.
A key takeaway from the discussions was that awareness of available entrepreneurship support structures remains limited across faculties. However, the session revealed strong goodwill and a clear appetite for collaboration. Participants expressed interest in working more closely with the bhive EDC and other partners to unlock new opportunities and strengthen academic impact.
One of the standout themes that emerged was the potential for research commercialisation. By translating academic research into practical applications, faculties can contribute to job creation, community development and environmentally sustainable solutions.
The interactive and conversational format of the breakfast enabled open dialogue, allowing participants to share insights, challenges and success stories. These engagements helped to identify practical ways to integrate entrepreneurship into existing faculty activities while building meaningful partnerships across disciplines.
Looking ahead, Dr Landsberg emphasised the need to identify entrepreneurship and community engagement champions in each faculty. These individuals will play a key role in driving collaboration and working with the bhive EDC to develop a unified entrepreneurial ecosystem across all three campuses.
Overall, the Entrepreneurship Breakfast reaffirmed the commitment of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences to fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. By strengthening connections across faculties and aligning efforts, the initiative marks a significant step towards reducing duplication, increasing impact and preparing graduates who are adaptable, opportunity-driven and equipped to contribute meaningfully to a rapidly evolving world.
The Entrepreneurship Breakfast brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to strengthen collaboration across faculties. (Photo: Etienne Joseph)
