MIETE-BLOG

With the support of Bank Santander, the University of Porto was given the chance to send one of his collaborators to the Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators for Santander Fellows. In this context, MIETE Director was able to be in touch not only with Entrepreneurship Educators from around the world, but also with Babson Entrepreneurship training team. In this interview we start by talking with Sebastião Beltrão, the Director of Santander Universities Global Division. We then interview our two guests from Babson College. Heidi Neck is the Jeffry A. Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College. As Faculty Director of the Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE) that has been running for several years and influencing Entrepreneurship Educators around the world. Walter Esquivel is the Director of The William F. Glavin Center for Global Management which is the organization that leads Babson College’s international initiatives and contribution to the advancement of global management education.

MIETE-BLOG: Babson College is Ranked #1 among all business schools for entrepreneurship. What is the motivation of Bank Santander to support such innitiatives and bring to Babson people from around the world? Is there a special focus on entrepreneurship?

Sebastião Beltrão: More than a focus on entrepreneurship, our motivation is to contribute to the development of universities. We believe that one of the main critical issues for universities is entrepreneurship, by which I mean, not only the creation of new companies, but also the exchange of knowledge between Universities and companies.Why Babson College? As you mentioned, it is one of the best in entrepreneurship and this is one important reason, but another important reason is the fact that the USA is a new market for us. Santander recently bought Sovereign Bank and we are starting a Santander Universities program in the USA. Babson was one of our first agreements in this country. This Symposium is a way to give added value to the agreement with this important school.Santander Universities Global Division is an international program of social responsibility to contribute to the Higher Education System in each of the countries where Santander has business. We have agreements with around 700 Universities in 14 countries in America, Europe and Asia. With these agreements we support more than 2.500 projects including Entrepreneurship, international mobility, grant programs, research and development projects, to name a few.

More than financial support, with Santander Universities, we are able to offer a network of contacts and agreements that give added value to the Universities. The Babson Symposium is a good example of this. Other examples are the Luso-Brasilian grant program, www.Universia.com (the biggest internet portal of universities in the world), The Miguel de Cervantes virtual library, among many others.

We believe that the best way to contribute to society is through the University, for this reason the majority of Santander’s Social Responsibility funds are centered in Santander Universities Global Division.

MIETE-BLOG: Heidi and Walter, thank you so much for your time and for accepting our invitation to this interview. We are most flattered by your collaboration. Heidi, you have been managing this program, combining both valuable content and the demonstration of different lecturing styles and tools. The combination produces a definitely awesome program that kept all students involved along many hours of training. You shared with us that you hear time and time again that the program has positively affected their lives in some way. Would you share some of your thoughts? Moreover, as teaching entrepreneurship is a method not a recipe, can you give educators an hint on how to achieve best results out of what they got on the SEE?

Heidi Neck: Entrepreneurship is often thought of as a process – a process of identifying an opportunity, understanding resource requirements, acquiring resources, planning, and implementing. But the word “process” assumes known inputs and known outputs as in a manufacturing process. For example, building a car on an assembly line is a manufacturing process. You know all the parts; you know how they fit together; and you know the type of car you will have at the end. A process is quite predictable. Entrepreneurship is not predictable. This is why I say that entrepreneurship is more of a method than a process. A method represents a body of skills or techniques; therefore, teaching entrepreneurship as a method simply implies that we are helping students understand, develop, and practice the skills and techniques need for productive entrepreneurship. Teaching entrepreneurship as a method requires going beyond understanding, knowing, and talking; it requires using, applying, and acting. Entrepreneurship requires practice.

This is what we address in our SEE program. Participants have a dual role. We simulate a classroom environment where participants assume the role of students so they can experience the various pedagogies we are using to teach entrepreneurship as a method. The other role participants’ play is that of a reflective educator. The SEE program does not exist to dictate a particular way of teaching entrepreneurship. On the contrary, the SEE program creates a platform for all of us to start thinking about the next levels of entrepreneurship education. The SEE program is a combination of what Babson does best plus what we (Babson and participants) can create together for the future of entrepreneurship education.

It’s hard to address in analytical terms the impact of SEE programs on faculty around the world, but we have heard time and time again that we have built a global network of like-minded educators who see the extraordinary value and power of entrepreneurship. This international exchange is unique. Even in the last Babson SEE Santander program we had 10 countries represented in a group of 30 – that’s a very eclectic group that creates a wonderful and exciting foundation for co-creation. The exchange in the classroom was spirited and ideas were flowing. The electricity in our SEE programs can only be experienced because it’s difficult to put into words what happens when passion, expertise, and creativity collide for the purpose of enhancing entrepreneurship education.

MIETE-BLOG: The Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators has also been presented in several countries around the world as well as other training modules you have to cover several topics related with management and entrepreneurship. There are for sure many success stories where new entrepreneurship programs and centers were launched with the support of Glavin Global Programs at Babson College. Can you tell us about one of those examples?

Walter Esquivel: For Babson College, entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and acting. We take this philosophy to many countries where faculty members are trained in train-the-trainer programs. One of the programs is offered via six modules with deliveries every three months, where Babson covers all dimensions of entrepreneurship as well as case writing and teaching; and yet another program consists in an eighteen month process where a team of two participants per university writes a case with the support of Babson College faculty and ends up the creation of a Collection of Cases.

MIETE-BLOG: We have been running our Master Program in Innovation and Technological Entrepreneurship (MIETE) since 2004, and the current model (2nd Cycle – European model for a Master Level program) since September 2007. So far five companies have been launched with the business plan developed within MIETE courses. From your point of view, and since we don’t tackle intra-enterprise innovation, what is the value, for existing businesses, to have their collaborators enrolled in an entrepreneurship master program such as ours? (we have a 10mins English video presentation of our program at our home page http://www.fe.up.pt/miete)

Walter Esquivel: I would surely encourage collaborators of enterprises to sign up and take entrepreneurship courses within Master’s, MBA’s or Executive Education. In this regard, it is important to highlight that entrepreneurship is not limited to start-ups. The Entrepreneurial Thought and Action is a process, an attitude that is vital not only for the creation of business, but most certainly for corporations, family businesses and for non-profits as well. Corporate Entrepreneurship (which you call intra-enterprise) is essentially using the entrepreneurship mindset and process to create products and services that turn the enterprise into a high impact company.

On behalf of MIETE and of our BLOG, I would like to thank Heidi Neck, Sebastião Beltrão and Walter Esquivel for their most valuable participation in this interview. Thank you so much for your time!

João José Pinto Ferreira

(MIETE Director)

O Projecto Construir é uma iniciativa empreendedora de cariz social, sob a forma de uma Associação, que tem por objectivo principal prestar apoio a pessoas institucionalizadas, em particular crianças, ao proporcionar-lhes o envolvimento em actividades lúdicas e artísticas de grande impacto, que possam contribuir para uma melhoria no seu estado anímico e bem-estar geral, permitindo encarar o internamento e as suas implicações de um modo mais positivo.

Estas actividades lúdicas e artísticas consistem fundamentalmente na construção de modelos LEGO de grande escala, cujas temáticas de construção poderão englobar monumentos nacionais, edifícios emblemáticos, entre outros.

A experiência LEGO representa uma junção muito peculiar entre o aspecto lúdico e o aspecto artístico, oferecendo aos beneficiários uma experiência única não só de lazer, mas também de enriquecimento pedagógico e anímico.

Os modelos produzidos estarão patentes em exibições para o grande público, nas quais será conferido particular destaque ao papel dos beneficiários no processo de construção, fomentando os seus sentimentos de realização e valorização pessoal.
Como projecto bandeira do Projecto Construir, será construída uma réplica de quatro metros quadrados do Estádio do Dragão com as crianças internadas no Serviço de Pediatria do Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto.

O desenvolvimento das suas actividades depende do apoio de terceiros, nomeadamente dos seus associados (que asseguram assim uma contribuição permanente), patrocinadores de projecto (que apoiam projectos específicos), e através de outras ofertas, donativos e prestação gratuita de serviços.

Como projecto de Empreendedorismo Social, qualquer mais-valia financeira gerada pela actividade do Projecto Construir será inteiramente aplicada no lançamento de ainda mais actividades geradoras de mudança e benefício sociais.

Contactos: Romão Santos
Telemóvel: 91 621 51 04
Email: projectoconstruir@gmail.com

Descarregar: Brochura do Projecto Construir

Entrevista a Alexander Ellis, Embaixador Britânico em Portugal.

MIETE: Ficamos extremamente honrados que uma empresa saída do MIETE tenha sido premiada pelo UK Trade & Investment. Mais do que saber a motivação para o prémio, que foi certamente o mérito do projecto e dos seus lideres, gostaria de perguntar quais os canais que podem ser usados pelos empreendedores e empresários portugueses para melhorar o seu conhecimento do mercado no Reino-Unido, assim como sobre o comercio externo Britânico.

Alexander Ellis: Foi um prazer galardoar um projecto como a Tomorrow Options, um excelente exemplo de inovação e empreendedorismo, o que lhe tem garantido o máximo apoio de todas os departamentos e organizações que no Reino Unido apoiam os novos projectos de investimento.
Esta é uma das missões do UK Trade & Investment, que para além de apoiar as empresas britânicas nos seus projectos de expansão comercial no mercado internacional, também disponibiliza serviços de apoio às empresas e projectos que pretendam investir no mercado britânico. Neste sentido, apoiaremos com especial interesse projectos que contribuam para assegurar a competitividade do mercado britânico e a sua contínua evolução em termos tecnológicos. A atracção de projectos com forte componente de I&D é por isso uma das nossas prioridades, o que nos leva a avaliar os projectos, muitas vezes na perspectiva do enorme potencial da tecnologia envolvida, independentemente da dimensão do promotor e/ou empresa.
Temos alguns programas específicos de apoio à identificação de parceiros tecnológicos no Reino Unido, o Global Partnerships, assim como um programa ainda mais específico, o Global Entrepreneurs, que se destina a identificar empreendedores que tenham um projecto e que estejam dispostos a considerar o Reino Unido para aí desenvolver o seu projecto de raiz . O programa Softlandings é um outro tipo de iniciativa com orientação sectorial que visa dar a oportunidade a visitar science parks e agências regionais de apoio ao investimento no Reino Unido. Mas sobretudo, e mais importante dos que todos estes programas, é sem dúvida a possibilidade dos empreendedores portugueses poderem contar com a disponibilidade de uma equipa, que irá sugerir e garantir o acesso aos contactos mais relevantes para cada projecto.

MIETE: O Empreendedorismo e’ um tema com cada vez maior importância na Europa. Como é que o Sr. Embaixador vê a promoção da colaboração entre o Reino Unido e Portugal neste âmbito? Em particular, com é que a vê materializar-se num curso tão especifico como o MIETE?

Alexander Ellis: Os níveis de empreendedorismo na Europa apresentam ainda algumas disparidades, sendo em regra inferior ao verificado nos Estados Unidos. De acordo com o último relatório do GEM-Global Entrepreneurship Monitor relativo a Portugal (2004), o país encontrava -se em 13º lugar num ranking de 16 países UE, o que significa que há ainda uma grande margem para evolução. O empreendedorismo é sem dúvida, um indicador de dinamismo económico, pelo que significa em termos de criação de emprego e riqueza para o país. Penso que há em Portugal um espirito empreendedor que é importante de promover. Da parte dos nossos colegas em Londres, responsáveis pelo apoio ao investimento a projectos provenientes de todo o mundo, tem sido constante o reconhecimento da qualidade dos projectos e tecnologias provenientes de Portugal!
Sabemos que um dos factores mais determinantes para a promoção de um espírito empreendedor é o sistema de educação, pelo que a existência de cursos como o MIETE só poderá ter um impacto positivo. Em termos da ligação com o Reino Unido, poderá obviamente haver oportunidade para a realização de parcerias com cursos e/ou iniciativas também com um enfoque na vertente do empreendedorismo.
Gostaria ainda de adiantar que sendo a aversão ao risco um dos maiores obstáculos ao empreendedorismo, posso afirmar que um dos aspectos que pode ajudar os empreendedores a minimizar os riscos é precisamente assegurarem-se de que estão a ser aconselhados e apoiados pelas entidades que estão vocacionadas para tal, como é o caso do UK Trade & Investment.

O MIETE agradece a Alexander Ellis, Embaixador do Reino Unido em Portugal, a sua disponibilidade para esta entrevista, que muito nos honra.

21 de Maio de 2009

Ligações úties:

• “Um Bife Mal Passado” Blog do Embaixador Embaixador Britânico em Portugal
• Porquê e como investir no Reino Unido