Entrepreneurship Program In Science And Technology

This paper presents the principles, premises and basic structure proposed for the implementation of a new undergraduate entrepreneurship program in science and technology. The reform in the education law in Brazil, established by the new “LDB – Law for Basis and Principles for Education in Brazil” (Law no. 9394 of 1996) creates the possibility of what is called “Sequential Programs by field of Education”, open to candidates with the minimum of high school degree, where the selection requirements is determined by each college or university criteria. The programs must be organized in high-level education system and programmed for at least two years degree, with the minimum of 1 ,600 class hours. These programs differ from regular undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs because they are organized in a specific field of education. This field of education can be organized in a specific area or discipline determined for example by agreements between industry and university. The Universidade do Vale do Paraiba, associated to other organizations such as City Hall of Sao Jose dos Campos, some technology based companies, and professional industry associations, decided to implement the “The Sequential Entrepreneurship Program in Science and Technology”. This program is proposed for the students with interest in subjects related to innovation, technology based start-ups, technology management, technology development initiatives, and entrepreneurship in the science and technology industry. The Vale do Paraiba, in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is well known as a science and technology based developed region. The aerospace, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, automobile industries and centers for research and innovation are located in the area. The program proposed intends to organize activities related to technology based project development, theory related to feasibility and risk analysis for technology based start-ups, team work, return on investment, benefits analysis, investment and return cash-flows, environmental issues, technology and society, etc. The program is design for a two-year degree and should be implemented in the middle of 2002. Page 718.1 “Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ” 2002, American Society for Engineering Education” Introduction The reform in the education law in Brazil, established by the new “LDB – Law for Basis and Principles for Education in Brazil” (Law no. 9394 of 1996) creates the possibility of what is called “Sequential Programs by field of Education”, open to candidates with the minimum of high school degree, where the selection requirements is determined by each college or university criteria. The programs must be organized in high-level education system and programmed for at least two years degree, with the minimum of 1,600 class hours. These programs differ from regular undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs because they are organized in a specific field of education. This field of education can be organized in a specific area or discipline determined for example by agreements between industry and university. The Universidade do Vale do Paraiba, associated to other organizations such as City Hall of Sao Jose dos Campos, some technology based companies, and professional industry associations, decided to implement the “The Sequential Entrepreneurship Program in Science and Technology”. This program is proposed for the students with interest in subjects related to innovation, technology based start-ups, technology management, technology development initiatives, and entrepreneurship in the science and technology industry. The Vale do Paraiba, in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is well known as a science and technology based developed region. The aerospace, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, automobile industries and centers for research and innovation are located in the area. The program proposed intends to organize activities related to technology based project development, theory related to feasibility and risk analysis for technology based start ups, team work, return on investment, benefits analysis, investment and return cash-flows, environmental issues, technology and society, etc. The program is being designed for a two year degree and the expectation is that it can be implemented in the middle of 2002. The instructors should be very special people with experience in developing projects in the industry and/or research and development agencies, preferable in the field of science and technology. The program also expects that part of the instructors had some previous involvement and experience in innovation and technology management as well. The program activities should drive the students to understand and evaluate in advance the risks related to technology-based projects, where some of these projects are more related to anticipate some kind of technology. The overall curriculum will follow the subjects: ∑ Theory and Decision Making Analysis ∑ Management Information Systems ∑ Sustainable Development and Organizations ∑ Technology and Society ∑ Mathematics and Finance P ge 718.2 “Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ” 2002, American Society for Engineering Education” ∑ Project Management involving: objectives, tech analysis, goals, lifecycle, timeline, cost analysis, ROI – Return on Investment, etc. The program expects that the students learn theory, but the working time should be much more related to project development during the semesters and the conclusion of a Final Project at the end of the program. The idea is that during the program the students learn different subjects and be trained on how to collect all the information they need to develop the projects. The team of instructors will be responsible to delivery the “know-how” for the students to arrange and collect the right information they need. For example, if the project is to “Design and Built a Technology and Science Park”, the student team request from the instructors team all kind of knowledge they probably will need to develop the project. The knowledge can be related to economy, engineering, architecture, finance, social sciences, reports writing, languages (Portuguese, English, etc.) and so on. The same we can say about how to develop a technology based start-up company. The students learn in class the theory, some specific technology and management tools and apply the knowledge in the development of a project or start-up company. The information and subjects are connected. The main purpose of the program is to prepare the students to learn how to develop and make the projects feasible, and at the same time in a good source of revenues. Entrepreneurship Education in the Program Besides the many different ways we can educate students for the entrepreneurship, this program is much more related to: I. Intrapreneurs and II. Entrepreneurs. The program expects from the students a high level of entrepreneurship behavior. In this way the concepts we adopt are: I. Intrapreneurs – The companies and corporations need innovation all the time. They need to attract more clients and achieve new markets. The “intrapreneurs” are employees that can make changes and promote innovations inside the corporations. Page 718.3 “Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ” 2002, American Society for Engineering Education” Intrapreneurs fell freedom to develop ideas, and are able to att ract financial support to create new products, services, new systems, and to change the management culture of the company. II. Entrepreneurs – New opportunities are open for professionals involved in the spirit of work in their own business and develop their own projects. The entrepreneurs have more freedom than employees of corporations and other professionals. Entrepreneurs accept the risk as something usual in the daily work. They don’t have the guarantee of they salaries. They are more flexible and need to understand at least a small part of almost everything. The entrepreneurs are people who are able to organize and manage any enterprise or business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. Strategic Objectives of the Program The main objectives of the proposed program are based on the fact that there are a huge amount of opportunities related to the development and implementation of new business based on science and technology in the region. These objectives are: 1. Establish the SEP – Sequential Entrepreneurship Program with emphasis on Science and Technology, a program that can support, contribute, develop and identify leadership in the region. 2. Share different experiences between entrepreneurs, students and instructors, creating an environment where people can talk about success, failures and opportunities. 3. Stimulate the integration between the University and the technology based Industry. 4. Create a database that group information about science, technology and entrepreneurship. 5. Establish the connections between the students involved in the program with Business Incubators, Science and Technology Parks, and Industry. 6. Stimulate leadership and innovation.