Assessing the Offer of Business Education, Entrepreneurs Favour UL

Appraising higher education institutions that offer business education, entrepreneurs of Latvia ranked the University of Latvia (UL) at the top, according to the research centre SKDS survey conducted at the end of 2019.

In the survey, entrepreneurs were asked to name three higher education institutions of Latvia that, in their opinion, are the most recognized in the field of business education, agency LETA was told by the representative of Turība University Marta Kive.

Almost a half of the respondents, or 49%, named the UL, while 37% favoured Riga Technical University (RTU), and 26% – Turība University. The other most frequently mentioned higher education institutions are the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga acknowledged by 22% of respondents, Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration mentioned by 11%, Riga Stradiņš University – 9%, BA School of Business and Finance – 10% and Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies – 9%. Other universities were mentioned by less than 3% of respondents.

Analysing the data in different sectors, it was concluded that among the entrepreneurs representing manufacturing, 49.8% favour the UL, 36% – RTU and 25% – Turība University. In the trade sector, 58% express their preference of the UL, 44% – of RTU, while 25% – of Turība University.

RTU ranks first in the construction industry, with 56% of entrepreneurs indicating their preference for it, the UL takes the second place with 55%, and Turība, ranks third with 40%. By contrast, the service industry representatives ranked the UL first with support of 52%, RTU took the second place with 40% of entrepreneurs supporting it, and Turība retained the third place with 32%.

The director of SKDS Arnis Kaktiņš explained that for several consecutive years, entrepreneurs have consistently ranked the same universities at the top, which, according to A. Kaktiņš, attests to the quality of education tested over the years. “The respective higher education institutions have been working for a long time to attain the result both in study offer and communication with the public, and it shows,” Kaktiņš emphasized.

He also noted that higher education differs from everyday consumer goods or services that are subject to rapid and frequent change of opinion.

The research was carried out from November to December of 2019, commissioned by the Turība University. The telephone interviews and internet surveys were conducted, encompassing 750 entrepreneurs from different sectors and regions throughout Latvia.