How to Integrate Explorer into the University: Three Success Stories

Universities know that presenting entrepreneurship as a real option enriches students’ education: the tools acquired through experimentation in this field are useful in any area of life. For this reason, creating ecosystems that catalyse ideas and projects is becoming increasingly important for institutions that aim to provide these opportunities.

Including Santander X Explorer within many of these ecosystems may seem like an effective way to structure an entrepreneurial pathway within universities. And indeed it is, although each institution naturally adapts it to its own framework. Generally, two possible scenarios emerge:

• Entrepreneurial training is integrated into existing frameworks.

• Santander X Explorer becomes a central part of the structure, from which the previous and subsequent stages are organised.

How do institutions tackle these challenges? The following success stories illustrate innovative and effective approaches.

BUAP (Mexico): community as the core

Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) has around 130,000 students. Those interested in entrepreneurship, after completing Road to Explorer (the programme that helps you develop a startup idea in three weeks), have two options:

-University business training: for ideas in very early stages. This is where Santander X Explorer is integrated. **Completing the programme is mandatory **so that students can become familiar with different reference materials and, above all, connect with other peers. “It brings a community with it,” explains Dr Lilia Verónica Gómez Galeana, Head of the Department of Incubation and Professional Skills Development (DITCo) at BUAP and Explorer Coordinator at the institution.

-University business incubation: this is the next stage, although some **more mature projects **arrive directly at this phase.

After these steps, there is also a post-incubation area where students can ask any questions they may have. WhatsApp groups** and contact with** Explorer Alumni help build a strong network, but the creation of community also extends within the university itself: Verónica has expanded her national and international connections by meeting other Coordinators.

“By law, university students in Mexico must complete 480 hours of social service; otherwise they cannot graduate. At BUAP, Santander X Explorer allows students to validate 80–90 of those hours, provided they obtain the Explorer Certificate. The hours dedicated to the programme can also count towards their professional internships. Why? Because they build community and work as a team.”

Universidade da Coruña (Spain): The Camino de Santiago = the entrepreneurial journey

María Inmaculada Muñoz is the Santander X Explorer Coordinator at the Universidade da Coruña and the creator of Explorer UDC, an initiative (awarded at the IV CRUE – Metared X Entrepreneurship Conference) designed to introduce the programme to interested participants **while walking several stages of the Camino de Santiago.**The connection was clear: “It has many symbols and values that also apply to entrepreneurship: effort, resilience, learning and community,” explains Inma.

**Explorer is the core entrepreneurial training programme **at UDC, as the institution does not have a specific programme dedicated to entrepreneurship. The university has added its own distinctive touch by formalising collaboration agreements with companies that mentor projects assigned to them. But there is more:

• Visits to entrepreneurship hubs

• Agreements with regional Young Entrepreneurs Associations

• Collaborations with various institutions

All with the aim of becoming fully integrated into the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Galicia.

Universidad de Xalapa (Mexico): from beginning to end

Santander X Explorer was already the backbone of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the Universidad de Xalapa. When Road to Explorer was launched, integrating it as a preliminary step was a natural decision for the institution.

However, that did not mean it was easy, as Alma Herrera, Head of the UX Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, explained. Among other challenges, they faced two main obstacles:

• Organising the calendar to align it with the** academic year**

• Finding **faculty members committed **to entrepreneurship education

To overcome these challenges, they developed solutions that eventually led to the structured pathway they have today (which can be viewed in full here), organised into the following stages:

1. Imagine Bootcamp: an outdoor event where participants connect with the idea they are passionate about.

2. Road to Explorer: over three weeks, participants refine that idea and research it further — identifying the pains it causes and who it may affect.

3. Final course project: presented during the INN4UX DemoDay forum.

4. Award-winning ideas move on to Santander X Explorer (although anyone interested may also apply).

5. If the project continues to develop, it reaches Reto Emprende, a more demanding stage where participants can request support; the Universidad de Xalapa helps find mentors, contacts and training opportunities.

In addition, the university’s ecosystem extends through** agreements with government sectors and regional business chambers**. The results speak for themselves: “After completing Santander X Explorer, 80% of participants continue developing their projects,” explains Alma. Students realise that **entrepreneurship is a real and viable option. **And universities take the first steps in guiding them along that path.

AI-generated image.