Institutional Collaboration as a Panacea for Students’ Self-Employment in Tertiary Institutions in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study investigated institutional collaboration as a panacea for students’ self-employment in tertiary institutions in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Three research questions were answered in the study. The study adopted convergent mixed method approach while the population of the study as all private employers of labour in small and medium scale businesses in Bayelsa State as well as Directors, lecturers and students in the various Entrepreneurship Centres across all the State owned tertiary institutions in Bayelsa State. The sample size for the study was 192 respondents consisting of three Directors, 30 CEOs of STEAM industries, 15 lecturers and 144 students within and around the selected institutions. Primary sources of data which were questionnaire (quantitative) and Key Informant Interview (qualitative) were used for data collection. Data collected quantitatively was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage while the qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The result of the study indicated that funding and research collaborations were the major forms of institutional collaboration expected for students’ self-employment. There existed a high extent of collaboration in the areas of capacity building and programmes implementation. The strategies identified as vital to improving these collaborations included the clear definition of the responsibilities of all collaborating partners for improved students’ self-employment. The study recommended regular business meetings between these educational institutions and industry experts to deliberate on emerging issues that will enhance students’ self-employment in these institutions.