Academic Program for the Relationship with Companies: An M-Learning Strategy to Promote University-Business Collaborations

Abstract

The interest in including mobile learning (m-learning) in training processes has grown considerably. In recent years, there is evidence of a progressive research production on the subject; especially in Latin America, it is seen as an alternative to bridge the educational gaps. In the context of higher education in Colombia, most university students work full-time and study at night, it makes it difficult for them to do internships and makes them feel vulnerable when taking on job positions associated with their profession. Our goal is to create a virtual internship laboratory supported by a mobile application developed specifically for this purpose. It combines Problem-Based Learning (PBL) with Action- and Decision-oriented Research (ADR). Through a descriptive qualitative study, a mobile application is designed and validated to promote the university-business relationship, it was named Academic Program for the Relationship with Companies (PARCE, i.e., Programa Académico de Relacionamiento con Empresas). The introduction contextualizes university education in Colombia and the receptivity of mobile learning, subsequently, the article describes the technical characteristics and qualities of the developed mobile application, as well as the methodology, approach, and data collection process. The information is analyzed by descriptive statistics categorized by dimensions to assess the impact of the mobile application on internship processes in a higher education institution. The academic performance was positively assessed with respect to the development of skills and professional abilities acquired and enhanced thanks to the flexibility of the mobile application and the PARCE program. Although it has been designed especially for internship processes, it is adaptable to different areas of knowledge and educational levels. The most recurrent rating of the program, on a scale from 1 to 5, by entrepreneurs was 4.82.