Academic entrepreneurship in developing countries: the case of an Entrepreneurial Department

The evolution of national innovation models expands the roles of the actors of innovation. In particular the triple helix model defines entrepreneurial universities as institutions that not only transfer knowledge in classrooms and scientific publications, but ones that engage in economic development through intertwined relationships with governments and industries. The typical cases describe the transformation of traditional universities into entrepreneurial universities following a top-down strategy with a strong leadership spreading such vision; however, many other cases of academic entrepreneurship follow a bottom-up approach. This article presents a case study of an academic department of a public university in a developing country describing one style of entrepreneurship from the bottom up. The importance of describing bottom-up approaches relies on the heterogeneity of the cases found in the literature, which in most cases are the way in which academic entrepreneurship is established in developing countries where the effects of innovation are necessary to increase their socio-economic growth. Subtheme: Triple Helix practice and experiences