The main goal of this article is to demonstrate that the Open Space as a research technique can be a suitable didactic procedure for the development of general competences (cross-sectional) in higher education. In order to reach this goal, we begin by describing the Open Space as a research technique as well as the information required for its application. Secondly, an application proposal is presented, which has been previously validated by a group of professors from two regional universities. This proposal is intended to be used in university classrooms when possible. This study focuses on the preliminary results of Fondecyt Project Nº 1070466: "The education of the university professor in regional universities: Key factors in their academic and professional performance", financed by the government of Chile, along the Conicyt/Fondecyt lines. This study tries to characterize key factors that define the university teaching profession in regional higher education institutions and later on to design an improvement proposal for professors and researchers in higher education.
Higher education; Didactics; Education of the individual; University Professor