Higher Education as an Engine of Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills in a Digital Area Transformation

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) play a central role in shaping the future through their ability to transmit, innovate and generate knowledge, near their students and community. They also establish strong relationship within society and the environment. Higher Education plays an important role in laying the foundations for the development of competencies for sustainable entrepreneurship, competencies that go beyond disciplinary knowledge and encompass skills, knowledge, and attitudes focused towards a holistic and sustainability-oriented approach. By preparing their students for the labour market, HEIs are proactively responding to the wide range of challenges that the dynamic and uncertain environment of the 21st-century presents. However, the demand is great and the road to be travelled is long. The literature review is extensive about the expected competencies, all indicating that they are critical success factors for individuals to ensure and sustain their career progression. Today's students are tomorrow leaders, players who can shape the world, make it a better place to live and work. Based on personal characteristics (attitudes and personality) and leadership, this study aims to contribute a better understanding of the relationships between these factors, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship. Using a quantitative approach, a questionnaire was given to undergraduate students of the Polytechnic Institute of Cavado and Ave (IPCA), in Portugal. The data were analysed and discussed according to the possible impact of the entrepreneurial leader's behaviour and the performance of the HEI where he/she is inserted.