The General Directorate of International Affairs of the PUCV sponsored the participation of two of its academics in an international program to explore new and better practices for teaching, learning and maintaining the spirit of entrepreneurship, which was the objective of the Symposium for Educators in Entrepreneurship (SEE) that, between June 12 and 15 in Viña del Mar, was held by Babson College in conjunction with the Luksic Scholars Foundation.
Gonzalo Gutiérrez, lawyer and professor of the Master in Business Administration (MBA) at PUCV, and Drago Radoviç, industrial civil engineer, professor of the same program and director of the Labor Observatory of Sence Valparaíso housed at CEAL - PUCV participated, along with more than 40 academics from different universities in the country, in this immersive experience, world-class, which seeks to develop ideas and proposals to encourage those who are starting their own initiatives and/or are motivated to do so.
The event was, according to the teachers, enriching, as they shared experiences and acquired new visions that will allow them to enhance the classes they give to PUCV students. Gonzalo Gutiérrez affirms that "convinced that entrepreneurs are not only born, but can also be 'made', all the attendees were very interested in learning effective teaching techniques implemented in different parts of the world, which could be applied in the courses and programs that PUCV teaches". Drago Radoviç complements, pointing out that they saw a set of tools that "although those of us who dedicate ourselves to management and entrepreneurship development classes know, we analyze them with a new look that enriches their use".
BACK TO BASICS
In this sense, Gonzalo Gutiérrez comments that, if it is about learning from the best in entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity, "the SEE was a unique experience. A basic idea that was repeated over and over again is that it is not so much about what entrepreneurs are taught, but rather how they are taught." "Much of SEE rests on the Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (or ET&A) method.
Created by Babson College, this method aims for the student/entrepreneur to face uncertain situations with confidence (and not avoid them), emphasizes (reflective) action over excessive planning, observation and data collection, and starting over as many times as necessary. But it was not only about reviewing educational theories, we also carried out a set of exercises aimed at identifying useful techniques to be used in the classroom with entrepreneurs", explains the lawyer. One of the points highlighted by the academics is the proposal to "go back to basics" during the SEE classes.
"All the activities were carried out in very basic conditions, with simple materials and within everyone's reach. Everything was within reach. More important than the technological resources is the atmosphere generated with the students," explains Gonzalo Gutiérrez. Drago Radoviç agrees, pointing out that in the symposium "we went back to the flipchart, to the post-it to give your opinion, and a very enriching interaction was generated among the participants. So, of course, technologies contribute to greater participation when there are more withdrawn students, but they do not generate the interaction among them that we develop in the SEE".
SPACE FOR REFLECTION
Another relevant aspect is to understand that a "meaningful" class must involve the student. In this line, Drago Radoviç explains that during the symposium, each day we were asked to reflect on what we had learned and "it is powerful to know that this is going to happen, at the end of the day or at the beginning of the next, because it makes you mentally review what you have experienced and thus become aware of what you have learned and improve the fixation of contents and experiences". "It is a very simple method, but very powerful, that allows you to realize if you are really learning and when this reflection is done collectively, it contributes to enhance learning", says the industrial civil engineer. In this perspective, having had the support of the General Directorate of International Affairs of the PUCV to participate in the symposium is, says Radoviç, "an experience that allows us to better practice the academy".
