**1. Introduction**

In the new knowledge economy, innovation plays a fundamental role in the socio–economic development of regions [1]. This growth is associated with the dynamism of companies, especially in the roles played by small and medium businesses [2]. In this context, entrepreneurship is a factor that favors the search for opportunities and innovation with a positive impact on the countries' wealth [3]. Additionally, a sufficient mixture of specific conditions of the entrepreneur, a favorable business climate, and the needed infrastructure is required, as are legal and political conditions that encourage people to create new businesses, especially in the case of Latin America, where this performance has been weak [4].

To achieve this growth, the interaction of diverse actors of the innovation ecosystem is necessary; elements such as access to information, training of human capital through universities and research centers, access to funds, and business opportunities related to the market, customers, and suppliers affect the creation of new ventures [5]. In this interaction, institutions such as universities include educational programs for entrepreneurship to develop creative and innovative talent, which provides opportunities to generate knowledge and networks [6].

As mentioned earlier, human capital formation is a fundamental element of economic growth and innovation [7]. Therefore, previous studies have determined how training projects in universities help to increase the culture of innovation through the promotion of entrepreneurship. One of the studies conducted by Diamantini and Tommasone [8] in Brazil analyzes, through a case study, the contribution of the Master's degree in Innovation Management for Local Development offered by the Fluminense University of Rio de Janeiro and taught by experts from the University of Milano-Bicocca of Italy.

This Master's program provides students with tools to build new businesses and to transform their environments, especially seeking to analyze the main elements of innovation and technology transfer, which promote entrepreneurship and the relationship with other actors, such as incubators, small and medium enterprises, and technology parks. The research concluded that interaction among the different actors is needed to achieve economic growth, although it is not possible to define correct policies without knowing the ideas of those who are experiencing the situation.

Another study was made by the KICKSTART group, integrated by nine institutions of higher education from Latin America and Europe. The research objective was to seek new practices that generate innovation in the countries of the Latin American region [9,10]. In this study, strategies were used to improve the quality of the teaching–learning process to seek the development of professionals with an innovative approach. For instance, in research conducted in Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, leadership was determined as a fundamental element that must exist in the professionals responsible for developing innovative strategies. Furthermore, this leadership should seek interaction with the tools that allow the transfer of innovative products and processes to generate projects that solve problems in their environment. However, not all teachers knew how to implement these approaches [11].

Therefore, the university needs to be involved in the innovative and entrepreneurial talent training processes, and one of its functions is to prepare citizens to join the productive processes and the generation of wealth [12]. Entrepreneurship education should support the student to learn by doing, incorporating mentors, networking, and increasing the interest of creating a new business [13,14]. However, authors consider that there are still programs that are closer to theory than to practice [15–18]. Thus, understanding the best practices in developing different skills in individuals to meet the new requirements becomes an indispensable factor for improving competitiveness [19].

In this context, the IC<sup>2</sup> Institute of The University of Texas at Austin developed the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization (MSTC) in 1997 and began a similar program (MCCT) in 2009 in the city of Monterrey, Mexico, managed by the Center for Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CGIE). This center has graduated 250 students who have developed 54 technology-based entrepreneurship projects in Mexico. The cohorts and team membership were designed to evenly mix as managers and directors in national and multinational companies, professors and researchers in universities, and entrepreneurs. Also, a number of former students have started new ventures after taking the program.

Analyzed literature indicates that there is a gap between what universities teach and what students can apply in their lives [20,21]. Some programs are more theoretical than practical, which does not allow students to prepare for the needs of today's society [20]. It is also necessary to know the effects of this training on the development of the regions, but few studies have analyzed them. It is especially relevant for Latin America, where the dynamism of innovation has been limited [4,22]. Hence, this study aims to know the impact on professional development and venture creation from the viewpoint of those who received training in innovation. Also, it seeks to answer the following question: How can higher education institutions have an impact on the development of entrepreneurship and innovation? By understanding the vision of people involved, it is possible to know the contribution that this type of training has in the creation of new companies and in the processes of innovation that can generate a transformation in the social, economic, and political problems of the region.

This article is structured as follows. First, it presents the literature review related to training for innovation and technology transfer. Second, it describes the context in which it was developed. Third, research methods explain how the research was conducted. The following section presents the results

and the analysis of the data obtained with the instrument. Finally, it develops the discussion and conclusions of the research.

#### **2. Literature Review**

In recent years, different studies related to the development of innovation and technology transfer have appeared, and they consider the following elements relevant for improving the economy and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.

#### *2.1. Training for Innovation*

According to the Oslo Manual, innovation is a new or improved product or process, different from the original and available to users [23]. These changes promote economic and scientific progress through research and the development of new strategies [15]. Additionally, innovation is associated with the formation of human capital that has the necessary skills, because professionals who are part of the innovation processes of the public and private sectors are required to be competitive in the products and services they offer [20]. Therefore, to train future innovators, it is crucial to establish strategies that encourage creativity and promote the required skills to participate in innovation processes.

In this regard, the training processes should bring the student closer to what they will experience in real life, through a pedagogy of innovation where elements known as meta-innovations converge [21]. These elements are, according to Keinänen and Kairisto–Mertanen [20], active teaching–learning methodologies, multidisciplinary learning environments, integration of working life, research and development (R and D), flexible curriculums, entrepreneurship, and internationalization. The path of the training of students to participate in innovation is in Figure 1.

**Figure 1.** Path of the training of students to participate in innovation, according to Keinänen and Kairisto–Mertanen [20].

The meta-innovation processes are active learning methodologies that allow students to build knowledge and meaning to the situations they experience in the educational process, and the orientation of working life that enables learning around real-life situations working on projects with other colleagues. This participation of other people must be multidisciplinary, so that students can share competencies and interact with each other. The flexibility of the curriculum allows following different trajectories according to the needs and interests of the students. It should also give the possibility to promote entrepreneurship, which implies risk management and the search for opportunities. Finally, internationalization will make it easier to develop competencies to participate in an increasingly globalized world [24].

Entrepreneurship is a relevant factor for the economic development of a region [25]. Also, the entrepreneur's role is looking for solutions to problems and bringing these answers to the market. Schumpeter [26] states that the entrepreneur creates new ideas that lead to changing the market with new ways of doing things. This type of innovation is known as a technology push, where the entrepreneur proposes the change and can introduce a new product or a new production method, open

a new market, or make a new industry organization. On the other hand, Kirzner [27] promotes market pull, where the needs of the market lead the entrepreneur to propose a solution [28].

For Rypestøl [25], these classifications are useful to distinguish entrepreneurs and companies, but they do not allow for determining the impact that new ventures have on the development of a region. Besides this, it is necessary to consider the effects of entrepreneur training, as well as the conditions that favor interaction with other actors such as universities, accelerators, incubators, and research centers to generate the expected development and economic growth.

#### *2.2. Technology Transfer*

Latin America has had an increase in entrepreneurship in recent years. However, despite its potential, this region has not achieved the dynamism of innovation that other areas have, in addition to the rise of informal enterprises [22]. As reported by Amorós et al. [4], the little development of innovative companies on this region is caused by three main reasons: 1) a lack of connection of research and development with the creation of new companies, which does not allow the transfer of technology; 2) little application of technology in business models; and 3) lack of public policies that support technology-based companies.

It is crucial to promote entrepreneurship training and innovation to reduce these causes. Furthermore, it is essential that the transfer of knowledge takes place in universities and that research and the search for solutions to society's problems make it easier to commercialize these innovations [29]. Recent studies found a gap between education for entrepreneurship and technology transfer because, in the university, commercialization of technology occurs in controlled environments and its development outside of this context is scarce [30].

An environment to form successful entrepreneurs, in which they can innovate and develop their businesses, is required. The existence of an innovation ecosystem is essential, where the conditions facilitate and give support to the entrepreneur, with an agenda that promotes the processes of entrepreneurship. The degree of success will depend on the development of a virtuous circle to improve economic development, as well as the conditions for innovation, entrepreneurship, public policies for competitiveness, and the growth of a knowledge-based economy [31].

Lackéus and Williams [32] notice that the programs that look for the creation of companies have potential to form interdisciplinary groups of students, offering a diversity of problems to solve, and a portfolio presented by the teachers. These characteristics challenge academic institutions because they require coordination among different disciplines, integration of other actors, and responsibility for the intellectual property of the ideas generated in the programs.

This study analyzes theoretical aspects, based on the opinions of the interviewees and the reality of the context in which they work. Good practices can be known to reduce the identified gap by presenting activities that are being used by higher education centers, such as CGIE, as well as showing the impact on the development of students' innovation and entrepreneurship skills, making these experiences visible in order to continue exploring their effects. The next section presents this context and contains ways in which the research gap is addressed.
