REFLECTIONS ON ACADEMIC PROJECTS AT THE UNIVERSITY

LEVEL AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF

COMMUNITIES
C.P. Suárez Rodríguez
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (MEXICO)

Abstract
To improve the deep learning of the scientific contents of university students, it is common for academic
projects to be carried out that solve real problems, in many cases, the products generated are innovative
and/or could be commercialized. They are presented in internal exhibitions or participate in academic
competitions with these projects, as part of the training actions of students and educational programs.
In some institutions they have departments of business seedbeds, supporting some projects for the
commercialization or opening of companies. Unfortunately, in Latin America and other regions of the
world, projects are only useful for assigning a grade and passing the course. This situation becomes
critical, if we consider the world economic scenario, which makes clear the challenges faced by
graduates of the higher level when starting the exercise of their profession: high competitiveness, less
job stability and a decrease in the programs of social Security. This scenario is even more dire, as a
result of the SARS-COV2 pandemic that has left millions of people in poverty around the world. This
makes it necessary to rethink, within educational programs, aspects associated with entrepreneurial
activities and teaching innovation, in order to train citizens who, aspire to better living conditions. These
two situations reflect a need to focus academic training activities with the transversal competences of
STEM students, such as entrepreneurship and social responsibility. That is, to address problems
through the proposals that contribute to the economic and social development of the communities. This
work presents a critical analysis about the reasons that limit the commercialization of products or the
implementation of initiatives and the importance of promoting professional skills, entrepreneurship and
its relationship with the economic and social development of communities. It has been found that one
of the causes of this situation lies in the knowledge of the teachers on the subject and, on their
perspective on the teaching of scientific concepts. It ends with a proposal to promote the entrepreneurial
skills of students and teachers, with the aim of helping to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants,
under a sustainable approach.
Keywords: Professional skills, science with social benefit, sustainable economic development, social
responsibility, STEM.

1 INTRODUCTION
The characteristics of the current world, social, economic and labour, are complex, employability is very
low in many areas of professional occupation, including STEM careers (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics), especially in countries with high rates poverty and little economic
growth. During 2020, due to the SARS-COV2 pandemic, many companies and businesses went
bankrupt, and those that still operate, due to the health contingency, do so with few personnel. Daily
activities have been modified to adapt to this new way of living, and businesses, services and initiatives
that respond to the needs of citizens have grown.
Education presented significant challenges in countries where teachers were not trained to teach online
classes. Neither teachers nor students had technological resources such as cell phones, computers and
the internet to teach their classes, especially in rural areas or in marginalized areas of large cities. Even
teachers with developed digital skills and access to technological resources had not faced the situation
of guiding students to carry out experiments, practices, or carry out projects in science and engineering
classes in distance programs, then How to promote these competencies in students under the teaching
scheme generated by COVID?
The reflection goes beyond looking for alternatives to cover the contents marked in the academic
programs, a concern has been raised to train professionals with skills to practice the profession in the
new normal, and who can contribute to the solution of local problems. What modifications should be
made in the curriculum so that graduates can face and overcome the challenges that are presented to
them? How to promote skills such as entrepreneurship in this context?

Proceedings of INTED2021 Conference ISBN: 978-84-09-27666-0

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In Mexico, schools have been closed for almost a year and still under distance learning. Despite the
efforts to keep the school community active, there are concerns about the impact on the academic
quality of students, especially in university instruction and in careers where skills are acquired in
laboratories. This situation makes more evident a previously identified problem, related to the learning
activities and the entrepreneurial and innovation competences of the students.
In classrooms where teaching is under a STEM approach, or using active learning methodologies, such
as project-based learning, cases, challenges, etc. Generally, students are oriented to solve real
problems, and, in the case of the university level, projects are related to the professional profile. In these
learning activities, students develop projects that culminate in the development of products, machinery,
and services.
At the end of the project, a finished product is generally obtained, but despite the fact that during its
planning and implementation they have solved a community problem, they are left in oblivion. Although
it is true that projects are used to assign a grade and thus pass a course, or to obtain a professional
degree. With the results, in the best of cases, an academic product is elaborated, such as a conference
presentation, a publication in a magazine or a book chapter, but the implementation is no longer followed
in a real context and very hardly to the commercialization of these products.
What makes it necessary to devise some alternative to take up those ideas and use it in the creation of
opportunities. Systematize these practices through an institutional program that aims to turn projects
into success stories. But, in what way can we transfer classroom activities to products or services that
can generate jobs, economic income and therefore benefit society and themselves? How to close the
training cycle of professionals who develop in the labor area beyond the consideration that upon
graduation they are employed by transnational companies or even medium and small ones, but rather
they can be self-employed and, in the best of cases, create their own companies? How to do this, in a
distance learning context? [1].
It is considered that, if within their professional training, students acquire the ability to create a company,
they will obtain at the same time disciplinary learning, work experience, and, in the best of cases, if the
company is viable, can obtain financing for its start-up. The challenge is to define a strategy to be
implemented in educational programs that allow us to get closer to the goals set and, under an
instructional scheme like the one we now live in.

2 ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE TRAINING OF PROFESSIONALS

Entrepreneurship is fundamental in modern society because it represents an important source of
innovation, employment, productivity, and growth [2]. Interest for Entrepreneurship has evolved over the
last decades, maintaining, as a common denominator, the person as the central aspect of the
entrepreneurial process [3]. Especially in less developed countries, where informal trade and self-
employment are the most important sources of work, in Latin America about 140 million people are
engaged in it, despite presenting social security and health problems [4], merchants develop products
and strategies to improve their economic.
Many of the university students who are part of these families, have their own concept of
entrepreneurship, but if the university has no defined programs to promote these entrepreneurial skills
oriented to the professional field, and the students not finding employment, they follow the tradition of
parents in instead of applying disciplinary knowledge to create products according to profession.
This pending task for most Latin American universities requires actions that range from the inclusion in
the curriculum of courses that favor entrepreneurship, but with an educational project of social and
personal responsibility, which considers promotion from the beginning of its training. of entrepreneurial
attitudes in students. Waiting for your graduation from the University, be a competent professional, with
the ability to generate innovative actions that meet the development needs of their community, at the
same time that you acquire disciplinary knowledge of basic and applied sciences.
The entrepreneurial attitude is the personal disposition to act proactively in any situation in life. This
attitude generates innovative ideas that can be materialized in projects or alternatives to satisfy needs
and solve problems [5].
Identifying the problems of a community, making proposals that address them, and creating machinery,
equipment or services as part of the solution, requires higher order cognitive skills, analytical skills,
critical thinking, conjecture elaboration, so it is necessary integrate specific and systematic actions within

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the curriculum so that students develop these skills, which will be useful not only in life, but also in the
exercise of their profession.
In 2018, We carried out a study with university students that has allowed us to identify the
entrepreneurial personality in university students characterized by a high locus of Control, achievement
motivation and innovation, however it is necessary to work on their training in aspects such as Stress
Tolerance and Risk Taking, also we identify some associated factors that can have a decisive influence
on students and have a direct or indirect impact on obtaining the entrepreneurial vision. One of the most
identified is the attachment shown towards the institutionally, this being the one that limits the innovative
spirit, because there is no training program in this area. It is also observed the lack of leadership that
some teachers promote towards the topic of entrepreneurship. One of the areas of opportunity that has
been detected is that there are knowledge limitations regarding intellectual property issues; This, we
believe, discourages the inventiveness and entrepreneurship of students [6].

3 PROPOSAL TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS

In a previous study (2019), we found, most university business projects arise from initiatives aimed at
awakening the entrepreneurial spirit of students, however, the projects do not become reality, because
they lack the foundations that every company must have to achieve success in business. Therefore, it
is suggested to implement the following initiative to turn university projects into success stories [1]:
In the careers of Public Accountant, Degree in Administration, and other economic-administrative and
business careers, implement a workshop called: Creation of a company. The proposed features are:
1 This workshop must be carried out in all semesters of the degree.
2 All course subjects must be assigned and arranged in a way that contributes to the development
of the workshop. The workshop proposal is as follows:
o First stage. Students must know the basic fundamentals required for the constitution of
different types of companies.
o Second stage. Students must group together to choose and establish a company, with the
capital and legal elements that are required.
o Third stage. Develop a product or service to satisfy a target market.
o Fourth stage. Sell the product or service operating through the company that has been
established.
o Final evaluation. Evaluation of the situation of the Company and the business
The expected results are:
1 Students will learn to establish and create a society.
2 They will implement all the theoretical knowledge acquired in the career, since they will apply
them in society.
3 They will have gained work experience by participating in the creation and operation of their own
business.
4 If the business is profitable, they will be able to continue with the business and will be able to seek
financing alternatives for its development and / or growth.
While it is true that the proposal is aimed at students from the economic-administrative area to develop
skills and apply knowledge from their entrance to the university, it is considered important that both
professors and students of careers related to the area of health, engineering, agribusiness or other,
acquired within their training, for this it is proposed to train teachers on the development and
implementation of projects. And that they know in depth the institutional programs and mechanisms that
lead to the formal registration of projects, offer services to the industry, development of patents and
registration of copyright. It could be assumed that these topics are well known to teachers but in practice
they are not. And, as with the students in these areas, it is recommended to form multidisciplinary groups
so that joint work plans can be developed. It is ideal to integrate in all university-level careers, a subject
to be seen in topics related to entrepreneurial development and project management.

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4 CONCLUSIONS
The task of the University is to train in addition to professionals with a high level of disciplinary
knowledge, human beings with aptitudes and attitudes that allow them to solve the problems they face
throughout their lives, entrepreneurial competencies had long been considered of little importance within
the training process, fortunately, for some years now, subjects related to this topic have been included
in the study programs, in some careers we are still seeking to integrate aspects related to project
development, business construction and commercialization and registration of ideas and products made
from experience and knowledge. Having new products, patents and micro-enterprises is expected to
have an impact on the economy and, of course, on the application of knowledge to solve daily problems.
It is necessary to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit in university professors so that they in turn involve
their students and are thus capable of turning school projects into cases of commercial success
As academics, we have to act accordingly to the challenges that our students will face, be entrepreneurs
and lead by example, but also guide the students along that path, developing along with disciplinary
knowledge and experimental skills, cognitive skills and others. essential areas for their professional
development and that of their communities and perhaps, when our students see an entrepreneurial
attitude, they will reconsider that university education is just a plus that should be had in order to face
this changing society of the 21st century.
Contrary to the entrepreneurial mentality, the dependent employee mentality is fostered, since students
at the end of their studies have the expectation that someone will hire them, many of them are still
waiting for an employer. this case is common even in doctoral graduates. wasting a creative capacity
and workforce that could generate opportunities for the economic and social development of the
communities.
It is important to systematize practices, create institutional programs to promote entrepreneurship, train
teachers, researchers and managers, and integrate courses for each of the careers not only on
entrepreneurship concepts, but also on support for the implementation of projects. Assign economic
resources to support the most viable proposals for the manufacture of prototypes, the creation of
companies and support for their commercialization.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To our students and my colleagues, who always are ready to collaborate.

REFERENCES
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