Project Description
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=296_DGvDdY4&ab_channel=ProjectCoPYEK
The development of the YERH web application has had its ups and downs. Through the ups and downs it has been a learning experience for the students involved. This is the first step in empowering students at the University level to practice their class knowledge on the field in an entrepreneurial manner.
The Youth Enterprise Resource Hub is a center for Entrepreneurship resources that can assist the youth to excel in their entrepreneurial pursuit. The Hub is meant to bridge the gap between Entrepreneurship learning and Entrepreneurship practice. The Hub is as a result of research done namely Co-Production for Youth Entrepreneurship in Kenya which was sponsored by the British Council through a grant. The Kenyan Youth are left stranded after completing their undergraduate studies because of the Kenyan Universities curriculum that mostly focuses on theoretical learning in the classroom. The Universities are not adequately involved in the overall entrepreneurship ecosystem. University Lecturers are not adequately preparing students for the transition from theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom to the real-world application due to the constraints in the curriculum. The project looked into new entrepreneurial pedagogies and flipped the classroom to allow for the practical application of theory in order to fill this gap. One of the interventions in the Co-Production for Youth Entrepreneurship in Kenya is to develop and commission a Youth Entrepreneurship Resource Hub (YERH Web App). Implementing Youth Entrepreneurship Hub in the form of a web application will serve as the focal point of knowledge and assistance for youth entrepreneurship in Kenya through a creative participatory process. The YERH Development Journey. The Youth Enterprise Resource Hub started with a call for Hackathon where KCA University Students applied to compete in coming up with the best User Interface/ User Experience Design for the Web application. 46 Students applied for the competition in teams of an average of 4 members. After a shortlisting process, 5 teams were selected with a total of 20 students. The shortlisted teams were taken through the requirements of the web application and the appreciative inquiry methodology by the COPYEK Team led by Prof. Judy Muthuri, Dr. Renson Muchiri and Dr. Mohsen. Later they were given a week to come up with user interface and user experience designs for the web application. After a week the teams presented their designs and the winning team was given an award and an opportunity to implement their design. The team of students have been working hand in hand with the webmaster to develop the web application. The web master gave them a crash course in using the WordPress content management system for development of websites. Afterwards, the students worked together in implementing their design where there was weekly monitoring by the webmaster and Alexander the administrative assistant. After the design implementation came the content creation. The Content creators have been working hard to get content from entrepreneurs so as to share their success stories on the YERH Web application. The Web application will be used to:
- Teach – The YERH web application will have short courses in Entrepreneurship that can be used by entrepreneurs as manuals on the technical areas in Entrepreneurship.
- Mentor – The YERH Web application will have Forums and groups where users can interact and share their experiences even as the experienced entrepreneurs offer their guidance to the upcoming entrepreneurs.
Mentorship will also be done through workshops and webinars which will be scheduled and uploaded on the web application.
- Connect – Through the Groups and forums, entrepreneurs will have a chance to connect and create networks for their businesses.
- Share Success Stories. – Entrepreneurs will have the chance to share their success stories to the world.
- Online Market – Entrepreneurs will have a chance to sell their merchandise on the online platform available on the YERH web application.
The development of the YERH web application has had its ups and downs. Through the ups and downs it has been a learning experience for the students involved. This is the first step in empowering students at the University level to practice their class knowledge on the field in an entrepreneurial manner.