Propuesta educativa de vinculación universitaria con pequeñas empresas: un caso de investigación-acción.

The relationship between universities and the business sector is becoming more relevant. When exploring education and training in higher education institutions, the challenge is to establish whether teaching is oriented towards interpreting theory through experimentation, methods, and multidisciplinary work in the existing context or whether it focuses on memorizing theory and carrying out evaluations only. In this sense, this research aimed to determine the effect of an educational intervention proposal linking higher education students with small businesses through action research. An experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive quantitative and qualitative design was used. The study sample consisted of small businesses from the northern border of Mexico, for which students from the Universidad Autónoma of Ciudad Juárez developed a business plan. Descriptive data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical tool. The results reveal that the learning was more significant for the students with this practice. For entrepreneurs, there were significant positive changes in their companies. Proposing linkage programs in the face of the diverse needs of the companies contributes to the development of university students, higher education institutions, and companies. It also contributes to the generation of new knowledge and the acquisition of real-world practices for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]