The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has begun the roll-out of a compulsory Entrepreneurship course for all first-year students in the 2025/2026 Academic Year, positioning it as a flagship foundational program to shape every freshman’s mindset toward innovation, enterprise, and self-determination.
Announcing the initiative during the Orientation Programme for newly admitted students, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, articulated a clear vision: “UPSA is intentionally preparing graduates who can thrive in a fast-changing global economy by becoming solution builders, professionals who do not merely wait for opportunities, but create them”.
He stressed that the University’s responsibility goes beyond producing employable graduates; “it must develop young people with the confidence, competencies, and practical instincts to build value, start ventures, and lead change wherever they find themselves”.
The Vice-Chancellor explained that today’s economy rewards innovation, adaptability, and the ability to identify opportunities within challenges. By making entrepreneurship compulsory, UPSA is institutionalising a culture of initiative and enterprise, equipping students early with the thinking and skills required to shape their own futures and contribute meaningfully to national and global development.
The course officially commenced on Monday, 9 February 2026, with classes structured around interactive and collaborative learning. In one of the sessions observed, students were introduced to a core principle that anchors the programme: how an entrepreneur identifies a problem and develops a solution that creates value.
This concept set the tone for discussions and practical exercises focused on applying entrepreneurial thinking to real-life situations.
Students interviewed described the experience as both exciting and demanding, an early signal that UPSA is serious about preparing them for life beyond lectures and examinations.
Many said they were eager to be exposed to this kind of training, noting that the rigour is shaping them for a future where they must be proactive and in charge of their destinies.
Some indicated that the course is already changing how they view problems in their communities, prompting them to think in terms of solutions, value creation, and opportunity.
Lecturers facilitating the programme also described the initiative as timely and strategic, observing that introducing entrepreneurship at Level 100 will significantly build students’ confidence, problem-solving abilities, and readiness for a dynamic and competitive business environment.
They noted that early exposure strengthens students’ capacity to generate ideas, test assumptions, and think practically about implementation, skills that will benefit them regardless of their academic discipline.
The mandatory entrepreneurship course reinforces UPSA’s commitment to professional, transformative, and industry-relevant education. By embedding entrepreneurial thinking into the first-year experience, UPSA is advancing the Vice-Chancellor’s vision of producing graduates who can innovate, lead, and create opportunities, graduates prepared not only for the job market, but for enterprise and impact.
