Spring 2022 Parent Ms. Georgina Abbah said she chose the American University of Nigeria for her wards because it is the national leader in Entrepreneurship.
"When it was time to choose a university for my children, I conducted a thorough search and convinced myself that AUN is the best in entrepreneurship. I do not want my children searching for non-existent jobs; my vision for them is to attend a university that prepares them to become entrepreneurs and self-starters. That is why I decided on AUN. My first son is now entering his second year, and his younger sibling has just enrolled.
"I can see the result in my first son. He is already thinking big and making concrete plans. My decision is justified in the transformation I see in my first son. I want to thank the management of AUN for the excellent job they are doing.”
AUN Parent Ms. Abbah could not have said it better. The taste of the pudding is in the eating, the saying goes. At AUN, entrepreneurship is at the heart of the academic curriculum. It is both theoretical deep and grounded in practice. Many AUN graduates own and management their own businesses on the strength of the entrepreneurship education they acquired on this campus.
"We have many universities in Nigeria, but I think the focus on entrepreneurship and development stands AUN out from other schools," according to Dr. Hassan Yusuf, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Chair of the Entrepreneurship & Management Program at AUN.
Every student at AUN is expected to enroll in and study Entrepreneurship and Development in the first year. The Entrepreneurship Field Experience (ENT 201) extends students' horizons in every practical aspect of entrepreneurship. Under the aegis of the AUN School of Business & Entrepreneurship, students are taking steps in managing real businesses on campus.
Unlike the practice in many universities where entrepreneurship is theoretical and a ritualized regurgitation of the basic principles of business and economics, at AUN entrepreneurship is hands-on. The game-changing Entrepreneurship Field Experience at AUN is open to students from all Schools and disciplines and runs every semester.
Students form their groups (or companies) and are guided by their academic mentors to develop viable business plans on campus. The Faculty team eventually selects two student businesses that the university supports with a $5,000 seed capital grant. The students elect their management team to run the business themselves. Profits are plowed back to support other future businesses.
"The students go through the entire process of ideation, evaluation, business concept refinement, and eventually launching the businesses as those launched today, and the students will run the businesses for the rest of the semester. As part of this course, the students experience how teamwork can create value for a company, and they learn soft skills in managing people and relating with customers,” reads the course description.
In that spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, AUN's final-year Software Engineering student, Mr. David Edijala, launched Zinger Wallet in early November last year. This payment platform allows businesses to receive payments in a reliable, safe, quick, and cheap manner while providing easy management of staff, departments, and customers.