Resumen de Entrepreneurship knocks on university’s door: entrepreneurial profiles and educational implications among graduates

Ana Paula Marques Cianni de Oliveira, Helena Rita Moreira

• The responsibility that has been placed on the role of universities as engines for the promotion of entrepreneurship is one of the main arguments to contextualize the current trends of change in higher education institutions in Europe. The substantial increase of the unemployment rate among higher education graduates, in Portugal as well as in the rest of Europe, presents new and important challenges to the University in regards to the entrepreneurship of its students. Therefore both the creation of structures to support professional insertion and the promotion of entrepreneurship or creation of self-employment or personal businesses, among others appear to be crucial in current “third” mission of universities. This paper examines to what extent the influence of social capital, gender and educational choices will be considered a reproduction or obstacle to an entrepreneurial career, considering graduates entrepreneurial potential. The empirical analysis is based on some results of the research project “The Entrepreneurial Potentials at the University of Minho” namely on two essential instruments: firstly, an online survey administered to 283 graduates of different scientific areas who finished the course between 2002 and 2008; secondly, in-depth interviews (8 graduates). Results will allow discuss how the higher education challenges us about the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics, social resources, academic and professional and economic context, social and cultural environment.