Project-based learning hybridized with service learning: Involving students in needs-based design of medical devices

Abstract

This study presents an innovative teaching-learning experience, aimed at connecting project-based learning with service learning in the biomedical engineering field. This experience is planned and implemented, coordinately, in two courses devoted to the biomedical engineering field: "Bioengineering Design" and "MedTECH". These courses are respectively included in the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering and in the Master's Degree in Engineering Management respectively, both at the ETSI Industriales from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSII-UPM). These courses follow the framework established by the Industriales INGENIA Initiative, which is completely aligned with the spirit of the International CDIO Initiative. Students from both courses collaborate in teams and live through the complete development life cycle of innovative medical devices. In current academic year, the projects from the different groups of students stand out for their extra degree of complexity and for their intimate connection with real medical needs. This has led to a higher degree of realism, motivation and social impact, as a way for continuously improving these courses. The needs and ideas for the different projects on medical devices, which can be considered services for the community, are obtained by systematic interaction with medical professionals from public hospitals, patients and social services operating in the Madrid region. Along the medical device development projects, students from different backgrounds and with varied skills interact, not only with the group of professors acting as mentors, but also with the entities, for which they are providing the services and designs. Besides, students are placed in contact with international initiatives, such as UBORA, a global community operating through an accessible online infrastructure and pursuing the reinvention of the biomedical industry, by promoting collaborative and open-source approaches in the design and development of medical technology. In this context several groups of our students proactively participate in the 2019 UBORA Design Competition, designing medical devices for global health emergencies, in a challenging environment and in connection with the promotion of their understanding of the relevance of engineers for achieving the Global Goals. Main benefits, lessons learned and future challenges, linked to the continuous improvement of these CDIO-inspired courses and to the strategy for connecting project-based learning and service learning, are analyzed. Available results from 2018-2019 are taken into account and discussed with the perspective of a decade devoted to student-centered activities in the biomedical engineering field.