Abstract:It is widely recognized that the investment in human capital, innovation, and knowledge transfer is essential to sustainable development and growth. Within this context, the role and action of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are vital.This paper aims to reflect on the role and impact of higher education on regional development, based on the reality of public higher education in Portugal and, more specifically, the case study of the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja). This institution belongs to the subsystem of polytechnic higher education and is located in a region that has one of the lowest economic ratios and population density in Europe.
The chapter focuses on the reflection around the relationship between entrepreneurial empowerment and regional development, based on the assumptions, methodology and results of a self-sustained supramunicipal project in entrepreneurship education, promoted by a wide network of partners representing all the municipalities of Baixo Alentejo, Portugal, and coordinated by the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja). The project Promoting Entrepreneurship Education at the Schools of Baixo Alentejo (PEEBA) was carried out in collaboration with Elementary Schools (1st to 2nd Ciclos) and kindergartens of Baixo Alentejo with the objective to nurture entrepreneurial competencies in children and youngsters aged 3-12 through practical and experiential entrepreneurship education. It provided them with entrepreneurial skills and attitudes that will increase their opportunities, by helping them face their lives with more initiative and confidence and/or be more proactive at work, or even start their own business in a near future, in the hope that this may eventually contribute to reduce the brain drain in Baixo Alentejo.With the motto the socioeconomic future of our region will be shaped by the students we are educating now, the PEEBA is innovative and unique, since it consists in a platform that brings together all the key stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurship education within all the municipalities of a NUTS, in this particular case Baixo Alentejo, who show an interest in working collaboratively for a common goal: to create a shared ecosystem favourable to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial capacity.
It is widely recognized that the investment in human capital, innovation, and knowledge transfer is essential to sustainable development and growth. Within this context, the role and action of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are vital. This paper aims to reflect on the role and the economic impact of a higher education institution, based on the case study of a public HEIs in Portugal namely the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja). This institution belongs to the subsystem of polytechnic higher education and is located in a region that has one of the lowest economic and population densities in Europe.
Aligned with the binary structure of the higher education system in Portugal, divided into universities and polytechnics, the Government acknowledged, in 2014, the need to identify distinct performance indicators/metrics aiming at a more accurate assessment of the effect and quality of the action developed by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). For the Polytechnic Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) it was necessary to define «(…) performance indicators that address the production, transfer and diffusion of knowledge» (FCT, 2014: 1), aiming to measure «(…) the applied research and the cultural production activities as well as their impact on the region where they [PHEIs] are located (…)» (FCT, 2014: 1).Founded on the presentation of specific indicators to be considered when evaluating the performance of PHEIs (developed under a research project funded by FCT: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia -portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology), we now focus our reflection on the tensions, reconfigurations and gains for the organizational and educational management that these new metrics can induce.By successive aggregation, the proposed evaluation indicators allow for the typification and characterization of the separate performance (faculty member/Department/HEI) at the level of applied research, knowledge transfer, population qualification and contribution to the territorial dynamics, which account for the distinct profile of Polytechnics. KeywordsPerformance Evaluation, higher education, performance evaluation indicators/metrics. ResumenEn línea con la estructura binaria existente en el sistema de educación superior en Portugal, dividido en universidades y escuelas superiores politécnicas, fue identificada, en 2014 por el Ministerio de Educación Superior, la necesidad de identificar los diferentes indicadores/métricas de desempeño que pueden evaluar mejor el efecto y la calidad de la acción desarrollada. En concreto, para las Instituciones de Educación Superior Politécnica (IESP) fue asumido como necesario definir «(…) indicadores de desempeño para la producción, la transferencia y difusión del conocimiento» (FCT, 2014: 1), es decir, que permitan evaluar «las actividades de investigación aplicada, de creación cultural y su impacto en las regiones en las que operan (…)» (FCT 2014: 1).Teniendo en cuenta la presentación de indicadores específicos que deben ser considerados en la evaluación de desempeño de las IESP, desarrollados en el ámbito de un proyecto de investigación financiado por la FCT (Fundación para la Ciencia y Tecnología: agencia portuguesa de financiación nacional de la ciencia, investigación y tecnología), centramos, en este artículo, la reflexión sobre el valor añadido y las tensiones que la introducción de nuevas métricas de desempeño, para docentes e instituciones, pueden inducir en la dinámica educativa y organizacional.Los indicadores de evaluación propuestos permiten tipificar y caracterizar la performance de la institución de educación superior en la...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.