University youth in the age of technology: The link between industry 4.0 awareness and entrepreneurial intention

With the Industry 4.0 revolution, digitalization has accelerated and the production, service, health and education sectors have had to adapt to the changing and developing age. With the awareness of industry 4.0 in universities, it is highly likely that students will have developments in their future business life. This study aims to measure the link between industry 4.0 awareness and entrepreneurial intention of university youth in the age of technology. In this context, it is important to raise individuals who can adapt to the industry 4.0 era and adapt to the developing technology age, and to raise graduates who can provide and use the technical infrastructure suitable for the education 4.0 era that entered our lives with industry 4.0. The study was conducted on associate, undergraduate and graduate students studying at universities located in 7 geographical regions of Turkey and 21 different faculties in 2023-2024. Quantitative research method was used in the study and 1166 students were reached through online survey method. The data obtained through the survey method were analyzed and interpreted with SPSS 29.0 package program. The data obtained were compared according to the demographic characteristics of the students; age, faculty, university, department, education level, grade point average, secondary education graduation status, personal monthly income, monthly income of the family, education levels of their parents and whether they have heard of the concept of industry 4.0 before or not, and the relationship between industry 4.0 conceptual awareness levels and entrepreneurial intentions was examined. As a result of the study, a significant relationship was found between the industry 4.0 conceptual awareness levels of university students and their entrepreneurial intentions. Accordingly, if the industry 4.0 conceptual awareness levels of university students increase, their tendency towards entrepreneurial intentions will also increase. As a result of the literature review, no study was found to determine the relationship between university students' industry 4.0 conceptual awareness levels and entrepreneurial intentions. In this context, the study is expected to contribute to the literature in terms of conducting the research on the subject for the first time.