Identification of the baseline for the social laboratory 2022 of the International University of Ecuador

Abstract

Community practices correspond to one of the sub-axes of community outreach. Through them, higher education institutions provide services to society in order to meet their needs, as far as possible. The International University of Ecuador develops its community practices through social laboratories, in which various careers create a synergy to generate greater impact in a locality. The objective of this project is to present the characteristics of the businesses in Villamil Playas and Puerto El Morro, as well as to carry out a comparative analysis of the needs of these businesses, as a baseline for the development of the social laboratory of the International University of Ecuador in 2022. The methodology of the study is quantitative/descriptive and uses surveys of business owners or managers in the canton of Villamil Playas and Puerto El Morro. The results show a similar structure in terms of characteristics of owners and businesses in both localities. They also show the areas of knowledge in which the university can intervene. In conclusion, the baseline of the social laboratory is presented for the respective development of community practices.