News
By Eric Alvarado Barrantes, Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN)
As part of the project “Fostering Innovation Management and University Business Linkages at Higher Education Institutions – iN4iN LATAM Chapter”, developed by the University of Leipzig in Germany, Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, Universidad Cayetano Heredia in Peru, and Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN) in Costa Rica, between October 21 and November 1, researcher Eric Alvarado Barrantes conducted his research stay at the facilities of the Entrepreneurship Center at Universidad del Rosario in Bogota, Colombia. For two weeks, the space served to develop a series of activities with other academics from the host university, as well as with academics from the Cayetano Heredia University, who were also visiting.
Among the actions carried out, it is worth mentioning the participation in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship classes with students and professors from different majors of the School of Management, where they were able to see some of the methodologies applied for the generation and analysis of innovative business ideas. In addition, there was a guided visit to UR STEAM and direct experiences in their laboratories for the evaluation of prototypes, including sensory analysis using specialized equipment and technology.
On the other hand, there was an opportunity to coordinate some possible linkage actions between the direction of the International Business major there and the Foreign Trade major taught at UTN. As a first initiative, the academic and director of the major, Juan Camilo Sanchez, gave a lecture on the “Economic Outlook of Colombia” for the International Economics course that is being taught at the moment. In addition, possibilities were explored to develop other activities such as mirror classes with the invitation of professors from both universities, business missions to promote the mobility of both students and professors, and the implementation of COIL projects. Another of the activities carried out was a visit to the Graduate School of Business (GSB), where they were able to learn about the details of the executive programs offered, as well as about the model used to stimulate the development of both graduate and executive programs aimed at strategic populations.
Furthermore, UTN participated in the panel on Innovative Education Models within the MWeek organized by the School of Management. This panel allowed a dialogue between students and academics about the linkage model used in different universities and, in the case of the UTN, specific success stories related to the use of organic waste in some agricultural activities in the country were explained.
Finally, the stay served to advance in the implementation of the research study “Understanding the Implementation Challenges of Circular Economy in Costa Rica: Bridging Global Trends with Regional Realities” which is being carried out parallelly with similar research in Colombia and Peru as part of the expected products of this project.