Human resources equipped with innovative entrepreneurial abilities are a vital catalyst in advancing enterprise development and the socio-economic landscape, as well as in transforming old and new kinetic energies. This study explores methods for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among college students within the sphere of scientific and technological advancement. We developed an index system to measure these abilities and designed a questionnaire to assess the factors influencing student entrepreneurship. Our analysis, utilizing the Markov model and multiple regression, examines the skills of students from Universities A and B and identifies key factors that influence their entrepreneurial capabilities. The general proficiency of students at Universities A and B is moderate, with overall scores of 75.24 and 76.28, respectively. The data indicates that student capabilities increase alongside their academic progression. Influential factors contributing to innovation include curriculum teaching (0.054), campus atmosphere (0.041), and research conditions (0.047), with curriculum teaching playing a significant role. Higher education institutions must enhance students’ holistic abilities. By creating a diverse innovation-driven curriculum, these institutions can effectively boost the innovation and entrepreneurship skills of engineering students.