Improving Student Capabilities Through Multi-Disciplinary Learning- Service Projects

Abstract

The new university context is demanding new capabilities to our students. In this work we will focus our attention in three of them. Firstly, besides the technical competences relatedto their specific degree, student must demonstrate generic skills such as team working, communication or problem solving. Second, they must be able to cooperate with other technicians who belong to different areas.Real engineering projects are usually multidisciplinary in order to provide complete solutions to global problems. Finally, in the current times, social and environmental awareness has become more relevant. Engineering has to participate in the solutions for the main social problems, and engineering students should also realize this responsibility. This work is aimed at developing a teaching experience to foster these three capabilities in our students. To achieve this, we organize a multidisciplinary project in which students from two different degrees cooperate in order to achieve a common goal. This project follows the Learning-Service methodology, so that students perform a relevant service to society. We pay attention to the process followed in the design of the projectresolution, in particular the supportrequired by the students. So we help them to acquire the skills needed to face the projectby using Project Based Learningprinciples and some learning theories.Some satisfactory results obtained from the first experience carried out during the year 2017-2018 with a reduced number of students, encourage us to widen this work in 2019.