Who do you want to be, and why? GUESS survey.

What are students' entrepreneurial intentions and activities across the world? This question is of both social and economic relevance.

Why?

Because students are the entrepreneurs of the future.

Their innovative plans and movements will shape the societies of the future, thus being responsible for our economic wellbeing. It is therefore important to understand how many of the current students want to pursue an entrepreneurial career and for what reason. Subsequently, stakeholders like academics, practitioners, educators and policy-makers can be informed on these matters. GUESSS (Global University Spirit Students’ Survey) measures these intentions and statistics on a national and international level. The last survey was conducted in 2014 (in the Netherlands).

In 2021, the University of Twente (UT) takes the lead in conducting this survey for the Netherlands. Entrepreneurship plays a key role in the environment of the UT; for the fourth time in a row, they received the title of ‘Most Entrepreneurial University of the Netherlands’. The UT therefore tries to facilitate as much as possible for its students in regard to this matter. This is done in collaboration with East Netherlands Development Agency, Oost NL.

Oost NL strengthens the economy of the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel by funding, starting and growing SME’s, by stimulating innovation and collaboration and by offering companies from outside the Netherlands a ‘soft landing’ in East Netherlands. By working together, a huge amount of students will be reached.

New and Important topics in the survey

A few generations ago, it was normal in households for women to stay at home and for the men to earn money for a living. This is not the case anymore, female entrepreneurship is booming like it has never done before. More attention will be paid to this topic and its impact.

Besides this, the current Covid-19 pandemic will be addressed extensively in the survey. It is key to learn about its effect and consequences for the future.