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Social entrepreneurship in education is not a luxury; it is a necessity, especially in Latin America, where we continue to face serious problems such as educational lag, school dropout, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to quality education. It is interesting to note that the most successful social educational initiatives were not born in an academic department or an institutional planning area, but from a real need identified by an educator, teacher, or student who dared to ask themselves: What can we do to solve this problem?
With the conviction that education demands new ideas and the breaking of traditional paradigms, the Institute for the Future of Education (IFE) of Tecnológico de Monterrey, through the EdTech Transfer and Entrepreneurship area, developed the MOOC “The Art of Innovating: Entrepreneurship in Education,” a free online course. This MOOC aims to support teachers, students, and education professionals in developing real solutions to improve learning environments, as explained by PhD José Carlos Vázquez and Sandra Gómez Madrid in The Observatory Webinar of the Institute for the Future of Education of Tec de Monterrey.
Would you like to start a business in the educational field, but don’t know how? Surely you are a teacher who already makes an impact in the classroom or in your community. In this webinar, you will learn more about the MOOC created by Tec de Monterrey for entrepreneurship in education available on the Coursera platform. Moreover, you discover how to become a social innovator and eventually a social entrepreneur, i.e., to go from providing a small impact to a sustained impact and from being an agent of change to becoming a social entrepreneur in education. In this article, I summarize the most relevant points, but I invite you to consult the full webinar for more details.
Free MOOC “The Art of Innovating: Entrepreneurship in Education”
More than a course, this Tec de Monterrey MOOC invites you to imagine possibilities, connect ideas, and turn them into projects that transform educational realities. Those who already have a project can find valuable guidance to help consolidate it, from securing financing to considering key legal aspects. This course is designed to guide the development of innovative educational projects that incorporate selected theories, agile methodologies, and practical tools to support purposeful innovation.
The MOOC is available online at no cost through the Coursera platform. No previous experience in entrepreneurship is required to participate in the course. The four-module course can be completed in approximately 20 hours. At the end, participants will receive a certificate of completion. The training addresses global trends transforming education and the main challenges facing Latin America. In addition, it delves into the use of creative methodologies to help people design effective and sustainable solutions.
What will you learn?
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the fundamentals of innovation and entrepreneurship in education.
- Identify relevant trends in the education sector linked to innovation.
- Explore methodologies and tools to foster creativity.
- Identify entrepreneurship opportunities in the education sector.
- Design and manage innovative educational projects from idea to implementation.
Who is it for?
This MOOC is ideal for:
- Teachers
- Students
- Entrepreneurs
- Education professionals
- People interested in promoting innovative projects with social impact
Impact of the MOOC
Since its launch in June 2025, the course has generated active participation:
- 345 students enrolled
- 35% of the participants are between 35 and 44 years old
- 54% are women, 44% men, and 2% other
- Most come from Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, Costa Rica, and Panama.
- More than half are full-time employees
Social educational entrepreneurship is not a luxury; it is a necessity
In this webinar session, PhD José Carlos noted that, generally, when we think of entrepreneurship, we usually associate it with the creation of companies or technological innovation; however, social entrepreneurship in education means something more profound. It means structuring and organizing our ideas into sustainable actions and converting personal or local initiatives into projects capable of transforming entire communities.
Entrepreneurship in education does not aim to stop teaching; it is to expand it through structured, scalable, sustainable projects that generate real impact. All great projects start with a step or a small idea. Identifying a clear need in your community can trigger an educational project with simultaneous social and economic impact.
Given the problems we face in our region of Latin America, what role must those of us in the field of education assume? What can we do to improve? In this webinar, you learn more about the challenges of entrepreneurship in education, the profile of entrepreneurs, successful projects, tips, suggestions, and everything related to the MOOC “The Art of Innovating: Entrepreneurship in Education,” in which you can participate for free to make your dream of entrepreneurship in education come true.
Experience this webinar. If your native language is not Spanish, you can activate subtitles on YouTube for instant translation. To activate this option, select the Subtitles option on YouTube (Spanish subtitles will appear), then select Settings -> Subtitles -> Translate Automatically, and choose the language you prefer.
About the Speakers
PhD José Carlos Vázquez-Parra holds a Ph.D. in Humanistic Studies and a Ph.D. in Psychology, as well as a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in law and psychology. He is a Professor in the School of Humanities and Education and a Researcher in the Institute for the Future of Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Guadalajara Campus. He is a Level 2 member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers.
Sandra Karina Gómez Madrid is an Electronic Systems Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in intellectual property and technology transfer. She currently serves as Coordinator of the EdTech Transfer area at the Institute for the Future of Education (IFE).
Translation by Daniel Wetta
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
