Cooperação e inovação

The outreach project “Mentoria Naça”, which began in 2022 and is now in its second edition in 2024, is a result of a partnership between the Faculty of Management and Business (Fagen) – UFU and Colégio Nacional, with the aim of fostering the development of innovative business projects with social impact through the exchange of experiences and knowledge between university and high school students. Based on the methodologies of Entrepreneurial Education (EE), collaborative learning, Project-Based Learning (PBL), and design thinking, a unique method was developed for the project’s implementation, developing in students the entrepreneurial skills required by the market, as well as placing them at the forefront of the learning process through mentoring and classes with practical content, based on a “hands-on” approach. As a result, more than 100 high school students and 40 undergraduate students are involved, in addition to 22 business projects being mentored. Of these, at least five are expected to achieve prominence in the local innovation ecosystem and, at the same time, an estimate of more than 10,000 people directly or indirectly impacted by the project in society.