Entrepreneurship! Tec professor presents book translated into Mandarin

A book on entrepreneurship by Tec de Monterrey professor Sergio Ortiz has been translated into Mandarin Chinese and he was also invited to present it at Tongji University in China.

According to the author, Formación emprendedora universitaria: más allá de los mitos. Emprendimiento con sentido de propósito [University entrepreneurship education: Beyond the myths. Entrepreneurship with a sense of purpose] is the first book on entrepreneurship from any Spanish-speaking country to be translated into Mandarin.

The presentation took place in Shanghai, in the midst of the 50th anniversary celebration of China-Mexico diplomatic relations, on June 15, Mexico time.

This book is about how entrepreneurship should be taught in universities, as well as how to develop and integrate the entrepreneurial mindset in all classes.

What’s more, it proposes a classification of entrepreneurial skills, which is the only one of its kind.

First book on entrepreneurship to be translated from Spanish into Chinese

According to Sergio Ortiz, Tec de Monterrey’s academic representative in Silicon Valley, the experience of seeing his book translated into Mandarin Chinese was as follows:

“Seeing such complex and detailed characters in my book’s title and my name was just amazing, something I never imagined I’d see while I was writing it.”

Sergio wrote this book during the pandemic, while he was a visiting professor at San José State University in California in the heart of Silicon Valley and the Tec’s representative in that region.

“To have been translated and invited to present the book to mark this anniversary is one of the most important moments of my professional life.” - Sergio Ortiz

The first version was edited by Editorial Digital Tecnológico de Monterrey in 2021 and it was published in 2022.

Then, Tec de Monterrey’s China office, via Mercedes González, offered to translate the book for leading entrepreneurship institution Tongji University, which it accepted due to its unique content.

According to information gleaned by Sergio during the copyright process, this is the first book on entrepreneurship from any Spanish-speaking country to be translated into Mandarin Chinese.

One class on entrepreneurship is not enough to create entrepreneurs

The book on entrepreneurship is the result of Sergio Ortiz’s research and experience.

“It was a way of getting things off my chest. I’ve spent years watching how universities around the world aspire to instill an entrepreneurial mindset with different methods.”

In fact, Sergio was in charge of redesigning the academic entrepreneurship programs at Tec de Monterrey. During this process, he created one of the largest research groups on this topic in the world.

He’s been a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation for over 15 years, Dean of the Business School on the State of Mexico campus, National Academic Director of Entrepreneurship at the Tec, and co-founder of several companies.

In his book, he proposes that one class on entrepreneurship isn’t enough to create entrepreneurs.

“All my research and experience conclude that entrepreneurial behavior depends more upon attitude and entrepreneurial mindset than on business knowledge, and that’s what I talk about in the book.”

In the book, he proposes entrepreneurial education as an integral part of the educational model, something cross-disciplinary and continuous, which enables the development of an entrepreneurial and innovative attitude and mindset among students.

“I gave myself the task of reviewing all the literature and grouping the characteristics that all the authors talk about, which didn’t exist until now.”

For example, according to the researcher, the attitudes that have the biggest impact on entrepreneurship are:

• Self-efficacy
• Learning from failure (resilience)
• Persistence and motivation or sense of purpose

Tec professor’s book in China

On Thursday, June 15, Sergio Ortiz presented his book at Tongji University in China, amidst the 50th anniversary celebration of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Asian country.

“To have been translated and invited to present the book to mark this anniversary is one of the most important moments of my professional life.”

Also participating in the event were Jesús Seade, Mexican ambassador to China, and Zhang Run, Chinese ambassador to Mexico.

That same day, the professor participated in various talks on entrepreneurial education and other activities at the institution.

“In China, I’ve seen a willingness to learn and apply this knowledge. I’m very happy to be a guest in this country and I think further visits are in the cards.”

Half a century of China-Mexico relations

On February 14, 1972, Mexico and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations, making it the fourth Latin American country to do so.

From that moment on, bilateral relations in political, commercial, economic, scientific, technological, educational, and cultural matters have intensified.

In May 2019, Innovation HUB Tec-China was opened in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

This hub emerged from the partnership between Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Mexico-China Center and the Jianggan district government of the city of Hangzhou, which is in the province of Zhejiang in China.

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