chômage des diplômés : l’UCAD mise sur l’entrepreneuriat des étudiants
Faced with graduate unemployment, Cheikh Anta Diop University intends to take a new step: instilling an entrepreneurial spirit in its students. It is within this framework that it inaugurated its incubator yesterday, named TÀGGU NDAW ÑI, meaning "nest of youth." This initiative reflects the university authorities' commitment to supporting students with projects and transforming academic knowledge into innovative businesses. In short, the ambition is to foster a generation of entrepreneurial university students.
Thus, this incubator will offer beneficiaries "a complete journey: training in the entrepreneurial spirit, individualized support by academic and professional mentors, networking with the entrepreneurial ecosystem, acceleration of the most mature projects, and rigorous monitoring and evaluation of results."
Students will receive training in management skills, intellectual property, and legal structuring. They will have access to the market, a network of mentors and alumni, partnerships, and fundraising opportunities. Professor Ablaye Ngom, coordinator of the incubator, specified that the priority areas are agriculture and agribusiness, health and biotech, digital technology and AI, energy and the environment, as well as sports, education, and training.
In his speech, the Rector noted that unemployment in Senegal is severely impacting young people. This reality directly challenges the university, which, beyond education and research, must also fulfill its third mission: professional integration and service to the community.
However, UCAD is not starting from scratch. It already has experience through two of its entities, DIVAC and INNODEV, as well as its participation in the ENTREPRENDRE Programme of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).
Today, the focus is on moving to a phase of institutionalization and scaling up. This new stage will allow UCAD to prepare its graduates not only to find employment, but also to create jobs. It also aims to leverage research results by transferring them from the laboratory to the market, thereby strengthening their economic and social impact. "The inauguration of this incubator thus fulfills a dual strategic objective: to improve the employability of our graduates and to better leverage our research and innovation," emphasizes Rector Alioune Badara Kandji.
To carry out this mission, UCAD relies on technical, financial, and private sector partners. The Rector encouraged students to take ownership of this tool: “This incubator is first and foremost yours. It was designed to welcome you as you are, with your sometimes still-developing ideas, your doubts, your energy, and your audacity. Don't be afraid to walk through this door,” he declared, reminding them that failure in entrepreneurship is not the end, but a step along the way.
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