Analysis of Teachers’ Opinions about Student Participation in Entrepreneurial Activities in an Institution of Higher Education

Abstract

Entrepreneurial education is increasingly relevant, and the number of study centers that are incorporating these programs is on the rise. The role of universities is central to the development of citizens who collaborate with companies to design innovative products or services. However, the formation of the entrepreneurial mindset in students is difficult to achieve, so it is necessary to create programs that are strengthened by transversal instruction in different careers. This article aims to analyze the opinions of professors in a Mexican university about the participation of under-graduate students in entrepreneurial activities within their programs. This research used a quantitative methodology to determine whether students were encouraged to develop entrepreneurial skills and if they could identify those skills. In total, 60 teachers from different campuses and majors of six schools in the University answered a questionnaire. The results showed that most teachers believed that the students in their programs could interact with entrepreneurs, participate in activities related to entrepreneurship as required, and learn entrepreneurial skills in their majors. However, most of the teachers indicated that the students also needed to learn more about entrepreneurship and recognized little or nothing about their entrepreneurial skills, and that no instrument existed to identify and measure those skills. When analyzing the teachers’ responses from three schools of the university, we observed that the teachers felt that the subject of entrepreneurship was less addressed in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences than in the Schools of Engineering and Sciences or Architecture and Design. Therefore, we recommend strengthening career programs with activities that identify and develop entrepreneurial skills. The results from this research can guide the teachers and authorities of the institution in determining opportunity areas and activities that promote the entrepreneurial mindset that the institution has set as a goal in its 2030 educative model.