Executive Summary
The Universidad del Valle de México or UVM is one of the 5 larger higher education institutions and private universities in Mexico, with more than 100,000 students. UVM offers programs for high school, undergraduate degrees, and graduate degree programs on 30+ campuses throughout Mexico.
UVM Business Incubator works to serve the entire UVM community, the students, parents, graduates, teachers, and the external community promoting the entrepreneurial spirit to create or accelerate profitable companies.
Business incubators facilitate the growth of small, entrepreneurial businesses with affordable space and shared support and business development services, such as financing, marketing, and management.
In 2007, the first incubator was created at the Universidad del Valle de México, on the Tlalpan Campus. Currently, the Incubator Network has 23 business incubators recognized by the Ministry of Economy, through the Register of Business Capabilities Developers (PADCE).
The Network of Incubators contributes to Mexico’s economic and social development, promoting the entrepreneurial attitude, the timely obtaining of financial resources, and the adequate operation of new companies. It is promoted by national and international entrepreneurs through the efficient advice of the UVM network of incubators.
It contributes to the generation of jobs and reduces Mexico’s economic and social marginalization, with the efficient, technical, and financial operation of the national incubation program of the UVM network of incubators.
About the event
Out of the four events UVM hosted on Airmeet, the first event, the 2021 University Business Forum, invited entrepreneurs from all the academic verticals of UVM Campus Veracruz to form alliances through the presentation of their business projects, both products, and services, to all attendees.
In this edition, they had a presentation entitled “Sales Strategies for Microentrepreneurs,” which was a great help for those who wanted to learn how to accelerate the project.
The second event, International U-Hack UVM 2021, was planned to bring together interdisciplinary teams from different universities in Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and the UVM campuses in Mexico, who worked around a challenge of a real company to provide a solution to this problem.
During this process, the teams formed, worked remotely, using a specific methodology under the guidance of various mentors specialized in business to generate the best possible solution to the problem presented.
The teams presented a pitch to a jury made up of various experts that chose the team providing the most viable solution.
Challenges (And Solutions)
José Sadot Rodríguez Jácome, Incubator Coordinator, UVM Campus Veracruz, said, “Before the pandemic, the events were physical, and that’s what people liked. Virtual communication feels like you are talking to someone through a window, which is not liked by all. Transitioning to virtual had a few challenges and required a professional approach.”
Challenge 1 : Host four professional events with 1000+ attendees offering high video quality
They wanted to host an event that could recreate a physical event-like ambiance. Airmeet helped them achieve this through these social webinar features-
Quality: José was very impressed with Airmeet’s HD quality video and audio, without any lag, leading to an excellent broadcast experience. Video communications were seamless, like real-time video chat. This feature helped to humanize the experience.
Backdrop: José mentioned that having a customizable backdrop helped bring a professional look to the event. The backdrop brought life to the event and enhanced the branding opportunities.
Backstage: José appreciated the backstage feature as it allowed the speakers to rehearse just like in a physical event. The speakers could meet backstage and engage before going live in front of the audience.
Professional User Interface: José found Airmeet to be technically superior to other platforms, with the ease of use and friendly interface. He did not require much support as an organizer, and the users did not face any login issues.
Challenge 2 : Find a platform that encourages spontaneous engagement among the attendees and with the speakers
José mentioned that UVM Business Incubators Network organized four events with 1000+ attendees, four sponsors, and participation by 14 universities from various countries. They were looking for easy and organic engagement avenues for the participants.
Solution
Engagement is a key measure of success, and Airmeet social webinar plan offered that experience with these features:
Social Lounge: The attendees’ list included the entire UVM community- the students, parents, graduates, and teachers. The social tables and networking options at Airmeet allowed them to catch up and communicate with each other. José admired the Airmeet design wherein the attendees are automatically moved from the social lounge when the session begins.
Screen Sharing: UVM enterprise events for the university were forums where speakers were invited to talk about digital marketing, e-commerce, economy, and more. José accentuated the fact that Airmeet gave a lot of screen controls to the host and speakers through features like screen share, etc. With those controls, speakers could focus on their presentation and audience better.
Analytics Report: The Airmeet’s analytics report was excellent, with an array of details regarding the attendee’s attendance, interaction, and engagement.
Raise hand and Q&A: José said that features like raise hands and Q&A helped the attendees connect with speakers and clear their doubts.
Way Forward
“Airmeet is visually more professional and a good platform for sponsors too. We could deliver powerful and engaging lectures and training sessions to our community. Post pandemic, we are planning to explore hybrid events and stay with Airmeet,” said José.
If you are planning your next virtual event, do not miss out on the Airmeet
demo to explore how you, too, can host a successful and engaging event with Airmeet.
