The Challenge of Developing Entrepreneurial Competence in the University Using the Project-Oriented Learning Methodology.

One of the objectives of the United Nations and the European Commission is to encourage the implementation of education plans and strategies to develop entrepreneurial competence. This refers to the ability to identify needs or discover opportunities and to act on them in order to create value for society. This paper aims to demonstrate the impact of the project-oriented learning (POL) methodology on the development of certain generic or transversal competences associated with entrepreneurship among first-year university students in Madrid. The competences associated with entrepreneurship analyzed in this work are: selfawareness, self-reliance, achievement orientation, proactivity, cooperative teamwork, team management, planning and organization by objectives and communication. The study used a single-group pre-test/post-test, quasi-experimental methodology with a sample of over 300 students of the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV). The results show a significant increase in self-perceived development of transversal competences associated with entrepreneurship. These findings confirm the main hypothesis that POL is an ideal methodology for the development of transversal competences associated with entrepreneurship.post-print898 K

Assessment Methods for Service-Learning Projects in Engineering in Higher Education: A Systematic Review.

Service-learning (SL) helps engineering students to be involved in community activities and to be motivated by their studies. Although several reviews and research studies have been published about SL, it is not widespread in sciences and engineering at the university level. The purpose of this research is to analyze the different community services or projects where SL is implemented by engineering students and faculty and to identify the procedures that were usually implemented to assess SL-based courses and activities. Assessment could be considered as the evaluation of a specific module and the engineering competencies, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the SL program, the assessment of the participation of the student in those programs, and the assessment of whether students have achieved certain outcomes or gained specific skills. We conducted a systematic review with a search in three scientific databases: Scopus, Science Direct, and ERIC educational database to analyze the assessment methods and what that assessment covers. From 14,107 publications related to SL, 120 documents were analyzed to inform the conclusions of this study. We found that SL is widely used in several universities as experiential education, and it is considered an academic activity. The most widely used assessment technique is a survey to evaluate the engagement and attitudes of students and, to a lesser extent, teamwork presentations.post-print828 K

El Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (ABP) y su impacto en el desarrollo de las competencias interpersonales en la Educación Superior

In response to globalisation, and the cultural, socio-economic, and educational changes it implies, higher education must offer a comprehensive education that favours personal and professional growth. To do this, it must promote competence-based learning through active teaching methodologies. This study will analyse the use of Project-Based Learning (PBL) methodologies in the context of transversal subjects, as an efficient technique to develop interpersonal communication and teamworking skills. This research is quasi-experimental, with a pre-test/post-test design with an equivalent control group. The sample consists of 610 university students from the Community of Madrid, of whom 387 participated in the PBL (Experimental Group: EG) and 223 did not (Control Group: CG). A reliable and validated questionnaire on personal competences was used as a measurement instrument. The hypotheses on the effectiveness of PBL as a technique for the development of interpersonal communication and teamworking skills in the context of transversal subjects are confirmed. The results suggest that greater use of active methodologies to promote the development of transversal or generic competences is highly recommended and that the insertion of transversal subjects into university curricula may be highly beneficial.La educación superior, en respuesta a la globalización y, con ella, a los cambios socioeconómicos y educativos implícitos, plantea la necesidad de ofrecer una formación integral, favorecedora del desarrollo personal y profesional. Para ello, debe fomentar el aprendizaje por competencias a través de metodologías activas de enseñanza. Este estudio plantea el Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (ABP) en el contexto de una asignatura transversal, como técnica eficiente para desarrollar las competencias interpersonales de comunicación y trabajo en equipo. Esta investigación es de tipo cuasiexperimental, con un diseño pretest-postest con grupo de control no equivalente. La muestra la constituyen 610 universitarios de la Comunidad de Madrid, de los que 387 participan en el ABP (GE) y 223 no (GC). Como instrumento de medida se utiliza un cuestionario sobre competencias personales, que se ha comprobado fiable y válido en grado satisfactorio. Se confirman las hipótesis acerca de la eficacia del ABP como técnica idónea para el desarrollo significativo de las competencias interpersonales de comunicación y trabajo en equipo, en el contexto de asignaturas transversales. Se sugiere un aumento de metodologías activas dirigidas a fomentar el desarrollo de las competencias genéricas, así como la inserción de asignaturas transversales en los planes de estudio universitario

Mentoring Programs For Engineering Students As A Way To Improve Their Skills And Competencies

Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (UFV) in Madrid (Spain) and Universidad Vasco de Quiroga (UVAQ) in Morelia (Mexico) seek the comprehensive academic training of students: not the mere development of technical skills, but also the personal and soft skills that enable them to face their professional reality. Educational missions in both institutions aim for sustainable development oriented towards people and the societies in which they are immersed. Their substantial actions have been designed, in such a way that active methodologies and innovative proposals are included. Among them, it is worth highlighting the provision of a personalized support system for students, in which, through a competence itinerary with their tutors, issues are addressed to help them to full development. An added value has been identified by applying this mentoring system at engineering programs (mainly based on hard skills), when supporting students in the development of other skills. A comparative study was carried out on the differences and similarities of the programs of both universities, from the point of view of the people who mentor and guide students. Thanks to those contributions, we have information that will allow us to adapt the processes and thus respond more adequately to the needs of engineering students in their first undergraduate degree courses. The focus group technique and a survey were used in the process

A Virus Infected Your Laptop. Let’s Play an Escape Game

© 2020 by the authors.Have you ever thought what would happen if a ransomware infected your laptop? This type of virus kidnaps files and encrypts them, and the only way to recover the data is by paying in bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency. This situation is undoubtedly terrible. All of your work, projects, and personal files will not be available (unless you pay the ransom). The first time students watched a video that contextualizes this stressful situation, they thought that they had been attacked by a computer virus. Fortunately, the panic only lasted a few seconds. This is the way to start a game called breakout or escape room. The difference between these two words is that, in the first case, the goal is to open a padlocked box, while the objective of an escape room is to find the key that allows to get out of a room. Both games are similar, containing riddles, puzzles, problems and some clues that would help the players to find the solution. This study analyses the use of a breakout game for educational purposes, more specifically in a university context. The experiment conducted mixes game–based learning methodologies with engineering students learning Linear Algebra, Calculus or Cryptography, which has allowed us to obtain promising results about the usage of this methodology.This work has been supported in part by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union under grant 2017-1-ES01-KA203-038491 (RULES_MATH), in part by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU, Spain), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain), and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, UE) under Project COPCIS (grant number TIN2017-84844-C2-1-R) and Project MAGERAN (grant number TIN2017-84844-C2-2-R).Peer reviewe