Abstract:

Since the Plan for the Promotion of Entrepreneurial Culture in Andalusia (Spain) was approved in 2011, many actions have been developed aimed at promoting innovation, creativity, responsibility and entrepreneurship.
An entrepreneur is someone who, based on an innovative idea, carries out a project in which he/she passionately believes, using his/her own means, looks for a way to materialize it and assumes the risks and consequences that this entails. For this, an innovative ecosystem is necessary. That is, an environment made up of various interrelated organizations that promote innovation and from it the economic development of a territory. Universities and Technological Centres are a fundamental part of this ecosystem, which also involve innovative companies.
This paper presents the specific actions carried out at the University of Jaén (Spain) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, through mentors from Andaltec I+D+i, Plastic Technological Centre, that have trained, advised and accompanied engineering students in the development of their degree final projects, contributing with their experience.
Acknowledgment: This research was funded by the Project "MENTORING ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP" included in the X Call of Projects of Promotion of Entrepreneurial Culture of the University of Jaén.

Keywords:

Entrepreneur, innovation, technological centre, motivation, university.