This Monday was the inaugural day of Babson SEE Chile, an Entrepreneurship Symposium organized by Babson College -a leading university in the area of entrepreneurship- together with the Luksic Scholars Foundation, which aims to promote knowledge of new techniques and trends in the teaching of entrepreneurship in Chilean university professors.
The meeting, which is being held in Santiago, brings together for three days more than 40 teachers from 24 universities from all over the country, such as the universities of Antofagasta, Concepción, Valparaíso and Adolfo Ibáñez, who will participate in classes, workshops and lectures given by two experts in innovation and entrepreneurship: Andrew Corbett, director of the Butle Institute for Free Enterprise through Entrepreneurship at Babson College, and Matt Allen, academic from the Entrepreneurship division of the same university.
Since its first version, held in 2011, Babson SEE Chile has had more than 462 participants and has been held in other cities in Chile, such as Temuco, Concepción, Viña del Mar and La Serena. In addition to an online version in 2021.
First day
The first day of the symposium was divided into four blocks of theoretical-practical activities, which addressed topics such as the flexibility of the entrepreneurship model, the importance of the techniques with which entrepreneurship is taught, the perception that Chileans have on this subject and their capacities for entrepreneurship, as well as the search for innovative solutions to solve problems that affect Chile.
“In general, Chile looks pretty good in the area of entrepreneurship. It’s not something that happens temporarily, but rather Chile consistently looks very strong in this area,” said Matt Allen.
Divided into seven groups, the teachers were able to exchange knowledge, strengthen their skills to work collaboratively and analyze the challenges faced by the education area after two years of pandemic in which they had to adapt their teaching techniques.
Gabrielle Trasatti, coordinator of the Luksic Scholars Foundation community, stated that, “the teachers appreciated the fact that this year the symposium could be held again in person. They participated actively, shared their academic experiences and are taking full advantage of networking with other academics, which is one of the main objectives of the program: to develop a powerful network of educators who can apply innovation and entrepreneurship in their classes or projects”.
What’s next
Over the next two days, Babson SEE Chile participants will learn about the design of innovative ideas, the lessons that can be learned from failure, how to transmit the entrepreneurial spirit in different contexts and audiences, and how they can continue to strengthen entrepreneurial education in Chile.
The event will culminate on Wednesday afternoon with a certificate award ceremony, which supports the participation of teachers in this program.
