From the UNS to the productive environment: an extension experience

Abstract

University extension is a function which is gaining more and more importance for teachers and which also involves the non-teaching university staff and the students. This stems from the need to link universities with the environment and, with greater emphasis, if those institutions are public.

This paper briefly comments on the leading role of extension and presents a project of the Department of Economics of the National University of the South (UNS) of Bahía Blanca (Argentina) which has been run since June 2022 to the present.

Free coaching sessions were given to fifteen small and medium-sized businesses and individual entrepreneurs, who received advice on costs, business plan and marketing strategies.

The main objective was to involve ten teachers and eight advanced students in a task typical of their professional role to respond to the demands of the productive environment. The motivation was given by a survey carried out by that school between July and August 2021 among these types of companies in Bahía Blanca. The results of this survey highlighted the need for companies to have tools that allow them to improve the operation of their businesses.

The feedback from the employers was very gratifying because they stated that they used the knowledge acquired, while the students were able to "learn by doing" and the teachers were able to teach beyond the classroom. Undoubtedly, the proposal will be repeated, rethinking certain adjustments.