Rafael Ventura, is an academic from the University of Malaga (UMA) with a large experience teaching, researching and transferring knowledge to the society and ecosystem. He got the Spin-Off Award of UMA in 1997. It was the beginning of his interest on entrepreneurship. Since 2004, he has held various leading management positions at the University, always related to entrepreneurship. Currently, he is in charge of the entrepreneurial policy at the University of Malaga as Vice-President for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Based on his leadership, the University of Malaga got the accreditation as Entrepreneurial University by ACEEU in 2021.
His main motivation is the desire to produce changes both in the University and the Society. But above all, he recognizes that the best result is the impact on people. In this sense, he understands the University as an “Accelerator of people”.
He has led the design and execution of Link By UMA, LBU, the Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of UMA. LBU is conceived as a connector between the University and the innovative and entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Nowadays, LBU centralizes the entrepreneurial activity of the University providing a unique collaborative environment.
Rafael Ventura can be recognized as a boundary spanner because of his background and current position in the innovative Ecosystem. The multiple programs he has carried out with entities outside UMA have led to the acquisition of an extensive network of contacts, knowledge on the business reality and the establishment of links with the business world based on trust, commitment and fluid communication.

José Ángel Narváez
Rector
University of Málaga



Felipe Romera Lubias
Chief Executive Officer
Malaga Tech Park



Sofia Louise Martínez
Researcher
University of Málaga



Isabel María Abad Guerrero
Deputy Vice-Rector for Employability
University of Málaga



María Jose Quero gervilla
Assistant Professor
University of Málaga



Antonio Peñafiel Velasco
Director of the Employability and Entrepreneurship Service
University of Málaga



Ana Muñiz Fernández
Technician in Employability and Entrepreneurship
University of Málaga



carmen Andrade García
Technician in Employability and Entrepreneurship
University of Málaga



María Jesús Lara Gálvez
Technician in Employability and Entrepreneurship
University of Málaga

I have had the privilege of meeting many brilliant people, many excellent companies, many wonderful experiences. I have enjoyed being an intrapreneur within the University having the opportunity of running high impact programs.

I am especially proud of the impact of my work on:
• My University, being the first Spanish Higher Education Institution recognized as Entrepreneurial University by ACEEU..
• Students and academics, in pursuit of the objective of providing them with the best possible university to be entrepreneurs.
• The Ecosystem, facilitating a right environment to design, create and promote University-Ecosystem connections.
• The specialized literature, both as an academic, doing researchings focused on Entrepreneurial University, and as a manager putting into practice the results and knowledge developed. The work done at the University-Ecosystem level has also been analyzed as a case study internationally; both at the individual level, considering the work as a leader and the managerial impact, and at the project level, with focus on the model, activities and outcomes of Link By UMA.