Universities Fostering Business Development

Abstract

Universities play a fundamental role in promoting entrepreneurship and directly contributing to the economic development of the country. This chapter presents the case of EAN University, an institution that from its foundation has focused on entrepreneurship as its mission. Over time the university has taken concrete actions to develop its three mission areas: training, research and social outreach. At EAN University, the entrepreneur training model is mandatory for all programs, making it part of the student's core education. In addition, the university promotes and creates a culture of entrepreneurship in its community through permanent business incubation and acceleration services, which are available to all students and graduates. EAN's accompaniment model begins with a diagnostic which determines the stage the company is in: preincubation, incubation or acceleration. The university's effort is focus on directing and accompanying companies in the preincubation and incubation stages.

Key factors for Startups in Colombia and emerging economies

“…En cuanto a la Universidad, la primera estrategia se refiere a la manera en que los procesos de preincubación categorizan el tipo de proyecto que están acompañando, ya sean de subsistencia, tradicional o una Startup con alto potencial de crecimiento, lo cual permitirá implementar un plan de acompañamiento ajustado a las necesi-dades del emprendimiento. Lo anterior es consistente con Castro et al (2017), quienes indican que la universidad debería ofrecer asesoramiento especializado a los emprendedores, de acuerdo con el tipo de producto o servicio que deseen comercializar. Esto implica que existen servicios profesionales altamente específicos que no son necesarios de manera constante para los emprendedores, sino que se deben suministrar según la necesidad.…”

Impact of collaborative, entrepreneurship education on the financial risk taken by university students

“…It seems indisputable that entrepreneurship, in its various forms, is an essential part of any economy and that most economic processes are related to the activities of entrepreneurs. One of the most important paths to entrepreneurship is education (Hasan et al, 2017), and there is a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs) (Castro et al, 2017), since university students are potential entrepreneurs of the future. The purpose of entrepreneurship education programs is to provide individuals with basic entrepreneurial skills and technical knowledge to establish and manage their own businesses.…”