A Case Study of Entrepreneurial Intent Among Students of the Primary Education Degree in the Basque Country and the Performance of Education Faculties

Entrepreneurship is a key competence for anyone intending to be an active citizen and obtain employment. Entrepreneurial education is therefore essential at all levels of education and in every field, not only in business and/or engineering. The aims of this study are: to assess the entrepreneurial intent of students in the final years of the Primary Education degree in the Basque Country; to analyze the factors that influence and hinder these students’ development of entrepreneurial intent in their faculties; and to identify actions for improvement. An online questionnaire consisting of 31 questions was used. The participating sample consisted of students in the final years of the Primary Education degree in the Basque Country, Spain. A total of 168 subjects responded to the questionnaire. After conducting reliability and validity tests, the data indicated that the average intention to start a business after completing their studies was 3.47/10. The majority focused on taking a civil-service examination for a job, becoming employees and/or continuing their education, as a sign of their vocation for children, lack of training in entrepreneurial skills and their aspiration to have better working conditions, among others. Faculties of education often fail to encourage entrepreneurship among their students, highlighting these the lack of internationalization, absence of information about entrepreneurship public and private programs and infrastructures, and nonparticipation in entrepreneurship extra-curricular programs and research. However, faculties of education excel in active methodologies, social engagement, and the use of educational resources

An Analysis of the Spanish Universities' Entrepreneurial Activities through Secondary Data (Websites and Reports)

Over the past few years, there has been a growing number of studies indicating that entrepreneurial activities performed at universities, such as cooperative research and the creation of spin-offs or patents and licenses, have a positive impact on the socioeconomic development of a country and responding to the challenges at the regional and national levels (Fernández-Nogueira et al., 2018). Hence, this study aims to assess whether Spanish universities are committed to the mission of encouraging entrepreneurial activities that contribute to the socioeconomic development of a region in particular. To that end, on the one hand, the regional evolution with respect to the entrepreneurial activities conducted by Spanish universities is evaluated through secondary data (websites and reports), and on the other hand, it determines which regions had more or less active entrepreneurial universities. Particularly, the study analyzed the entrepreneurial activities of 76 universities in 17 regions in Spain (Europe). To conduct the said analysis, the use of a tool is proposed to assess the entrepreneurial nature of universities from a given region, and it comprised a set of observable quantitative indicators that aid in data collection through supporting documentation. Additionally, information was collected and analyzed by triangulating sources and researchers. The key study findings conclude that a positive evolution could be observed in terms of entrepreneurial results in most of the regions. Regarding the strengths of the Spanish higher education system, it is worth highlighting the number of Offices for the Transfer of Research Results in terms of scientific journals, PhD thesis, and license revenue. As for the system’s weaknesses, less than half of the Spanish regions offer entrepreneurial degrees, with a decrease in the amount of research and development revenue. Furthermore, by being aware of the regional differences, the number of patents and spin-offs has also decreased. Therefore, all actors/stakeholders involved in the higher education institutions should strive toward incorporating entrepreneurial activities for the progress of their respective regions

A performance-based taxonomy of entrepreneurial universities

The European higher education landscape has experienced dramatic changes in the last decades and the entrepreneurial university has turned into a potential solution to these perceived problems. Therefore, this paper proposes taxonomy of entrepreneurial universities. Based on a cluster analysis, three distinct groups are identified, within different phases of the transformation into an entrepreneurial university: one group of universities is in the first phase of the path, since they are not obtaining high entrepreneurial university results yet; another group is in the second phase of the path, obtaining good results in hard academic entrepreneurship activities; and, finally, the last group is composed of the most entrepreneurial universities. Moreover, universities are not motionless within a specific group, they can improve and move from one stage to the upper one; indeed, this paper shows the main levers for moving from one stage to another

Lelong Numbers of Bidegree (1,1) Currents on Multiprojective Spaces

Let $T$ be a positive closed current of bidegree $(1,1)$ on a multiprojective space $X={\mathbb P}^{n_1}\times\ldots\times{\mathbb P}^{n_k}$. For certain values of $\alpha$, which depend on the cohomology class of $T$, we show that the set of points of $X$ where the Lelong numbers of $T$ exceed $\alpha$ have certain geometric properties. We also describe the currents $T$ that have the largest possible Lelong number in a given cohomology class, and the set of points where this number is assumed

Towards Human-Scale Competitiveness: Priority Challenges for Triple Helix towards 2030

The future of regions must be built on human-scale competitiveness based on quality employment, sustainability (climate, digital, and demographic), knowledge and skills, new business projects focused on people, and equality between women and men. The achievement of this competitiveness requires cooperation among the Triple Helix, i.e., cooperation between companies, universities, and administration. However, as extant studies indicate, cooperation levels between universities and companies remain low. Therefore, the development of research projects and tools to foster this cooperation is necessary. As can be seen in the United Nations Sustainable Development 2030 Agenda, the challenges that the Triple Helix must face in the runup to 2030 are manifold. Given these multiple challenges and the limitation of existing resources, the identification of priorities is crucial in order to optimise resources, focus policies, and develop an agenda to guide cooperation. To this end, by conducting an exhaustive review of the literature, four focus group sessions with 24 participants and a quantitative questionnaire answered by 90 institutions, this study identifies the challenges that the Triple Helix of the Basque Country (Northern Spain) considers to be a priority for 2030 in order to ensure regional human-scale competitiveness. In accordance with the results of the study, eradicating gender-based violence, favouring the establishment of companies in the territory (incentives, legal measures, recognition, etc.), and developing alternative energy sources are some of the main priority challenges

Targeted gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for CD163 detection in atherosclerosis by MRI

CD163 is a membrane receptor expressed by macrophage lineage. Studies performed in atherosclerosis have shown that CD163 expression is increased at inflammatory sites, pointing at the presence of intraplaque hemorrhagic sites or asymptomatic plaques. Hence, imaging of CD163 expressing macrophages is an interesting strategy in order to detect atherosclerotic plaques. We have prepared a targeted probe based on gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles vectorized with an anti-CD163 antibody for the specific detection of CD163 by MRI. Firstly, the specificity of the targeted probe was validated in vitro by incubation of the probe with CD163(+) or (−) macrophages. The probe was able to selectively detect CD163(+) macrophages both in human and murine cells. Subsequently, the targeted probe was injected in 16 weeks old apoE deficient mice developing atherosclerotic lesions and the pararenal abdominal aorta was imaged by MRI. The accumulation of probe in the site of interest increased over time and the signal intensity decreased significantly 48 hours after the injection. Hence, we have developed a highly sensitive targeted probe capable of detecting CD163-expressing macrophages that could provide useful information about the state of the atheromatous lesionsThis work was funded by Spanish Government through a Plan Nacional (CTQ2011–27268), FEDER funds through the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI10/00072, PI13/00051, PI13/00395, PI13/00802, PI14/00883 and PI14/00386), CIBERDEM group, RETICS RD12/0042/0038, Programa Miguel Servet (CP10/00479) and cvREMOD CENIT project (CEN-20091044), the Basque Government through Etortek 2011 (IE11–301), and Fundacion Lilly, Spanish Society of Atherosclerosis, Spanish Society of Nephrology and Fundacion Renal Iñigo Alvarez de Toled

Exploring Entrepreneurship in the Academic Environment

The entrepreneurial university has taken a prodigious influence globally and studies show the expedient value of entrepreneurship in education. Universities are performing various entrepreneurship activities alongside their main objectives of teaching and research. This study evaluates university faculty of different work experiences and positions of their perceptions toward the entrepreneurial university. Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) and Least Significant Difference (LSD) comparisons were performed on participants work experience by evaluating certain factors of the entrepreneurship university. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to reveal faculty\u27s awareness of entrepreneurship in their universities. The results help in understanding the interpersonal dynamics within academic organizations. Universities worldwide are adopting entrepreneurship in education by introducing models, methods, and collaboration on all levels of industry and government to fulfill innovative systems in academia

On the laminar specificity of BOLD-based activation profiles

Contains fulltext : 199744.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Radboud University, 25 januari 2019Promotor : Norris, D.G.176 p