The Challenge of Learning Entrepreneurship

Author: 
Sánchez Cruz María de Lourdes, Slater Charles & Zepeda González Dulce Amor Julieta
Publisher: 
CONAHEC
Year of Publication: 
2008

The learning of entrepreneurship is one of the challenges for higher education in the twenty first century (UNESCO, 1998). However, how can these abilities be developed in university students if these abilities aren’t fostered at all educational levels? The educational research project Development of Entrepreneurship Abilities in Public Institutions in the State of Sonora is being performed through a collaborative network in which ITESCA, ITESM and CIDEP are participating with the support of CONACYT and the Government of the State of Sonora. Using Action-Research methodology, a workshop/class was developed for girls and boys of four to twelve years of age, taking as a basis an educational model with a constructivist learning focus. Resulting from this program are the programs of study, participants’ and facilitators’ manuals, a web page and the statistics about the increase in number of participants who have benefitted (approximately 500 girls and boys in Ciudad Obregón and Hermosillo, Sonora). The program seeks to permeate formal education with an entrepreneurial culture which permits participants to know what to do with what they know and to be able to use it as a tool to take advantage of opportunities arising from globalization.

Event Information
Event Title: 
CONAHEC's 12th North American Higher Education Conference - Monterrey 2008
Event Description: 

Join leaders and practitioners of higher education, business, government and students in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico for CONAHEC’s 12th North American Higher Education Conference! North Americans share many historical, cultural, and linguistic bonds and many common issues to face. With the signing of NAFTA in 1994, our region has become inextricably linked by growing economic ties. Leaders in North America recognize that regional and individual community prosperity depends largely on the global competencies of our future professionals -- today's students. Governmental and educational leaders acknowledge that higher education institutions in North America must be more proactive and offer students opportunities to gain international expertise by becoming more internationally oriented while strengthening local connections in their teaching, research and public service functions.More than a decade after NAFTA was launched, it is increasingly evident that our region cannot isolate itself, but must rather develop stronger and more productive linkages both internally and with other world regions. Higher education has an important role to play in connecting North America with the rest of the world. Together, we will revitalize the North American higher education collaborative agenda for the new political, economic and educational context in which we live today.