UTech, Ja. Voices

VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica | January – April 2020 4 P rofessor Girjanauth Boodraj, recently appointed Professor of Economics in the College of Business and Management, delivered his inaugural Professorial lecture titled, “Promoting Economic Development through Entrepreneurship: Evidence from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM),” to a capacity audience on February 13, 2020 at the Papine Campus. GEM is theworld’s leading research consortiumon Entrepreneurship.It aims to understand the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development. Through a consortium of universities in 100 countries, GEM data tracks the entrepreneurial attitudes, activities and motivation of entrepreneurs in the participating countries and monitors entrepreneurial framework conditions which promote or hinder the growth of entrepreneurship such as financial support, government policies, commercial and service infrastructure and physical infrastructure. GEM tracks rates of entrepreneurship across multiple phases of activity- potential entrepreneurs, nascent entrepreneurs, new business owners, established business owners and discontinued businesses. UTech, Jamaica has been involved in producing the GEM Jamaica country report since 2005. Professor Boodraj who is the current team lead for the research and publication of the Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) Jamaica Report and who has an extensive body of publications in Economics and Statistics, shared aspects and recommendations of the most recent GEM (2016/17) Jamaica Report. Professor Boodraj also discussed other aspects of the study, including entrepreneurial employment activity; Jamaicans high respect for successful business people (such as American Oprah Winfrey and Jamaican business moguls Michael Lee-Chin and Gordon “Butch” Stewart); attitude of Jamaicans towards starting a business and fear of failure. Interestingly, he shared data from the GEM study which revealed that 85% of Jamaicans viewed starting a business as a desirable career choice. Given this encouraging attitude by Jamaicans to entrepreneurship, Professor Boodraj underscored the role that must be played by the educational system, noting that “more Professor Girjanauth Boodraj, newly appointed Professor of Economics in the College of Business and Management, University of Technology, Jamaica, delivers his inaugural Professorial Lecture on the topic, “Promoting Economic Development through Entrepreneurship: Evidence from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM),” to a capacity audience on February 13, 2020 at the, Shared Facilities Building, UTech, Jamaica Papine Campus. Girjanauth Boodraj Delivers Inaugural Professorial Lecture Dancer Chantelle Biersay entertains guests at the Inaugural Professorial Lecture. of our young Jamaicans should be exposed early – at the elementary or primary level to entrepreneurship as a career option,” adding that “hands-on experiences rather than just theoretical knowledge are essential.”