Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Higher Education to Develop the Needed 21st Century Skills

We are going through perhaps the greatest crisis of our lives, where the pace of decision making, and the adoption of new public policies may indelibly condition individual and collective futures. Among other megatrends, Covid-19's impact on the digital world will facilitate the trend towards osmosis between real and virtual, human, machine and nature, public and private. The migration of all economic activities to digital, for safety and business survival reasons, will require adaptation and transition models to the new digital reality. The acceleration of digital transformation in hardware and software infrastructures will also lead to remodelling and innovate in all socio-economic, labour, and educational activities. The trend towards skills and qualifications will become more imperative. Higher Education Institutions can have a central role in developing the needed skills with their students, providing digital skills as well as pedagogical policies that stimulates them, specially focused on leadership, critical thinking, and creativity. This research aims to understand what the perceptions of the demand for digital workforce competencies are. It also intends to comprehend how those competencies are linked with entrepreneurship and leadership. After a literature review, data are presented and discussed, as well as conclusions and future potential research directions.