PIRAMIDE: An innovative educational program based on research. Some results and lessons learned

Abstract

In the last years a quite large effort has been done related to Project Based Learning (PBL), within the aerospace academic programs at Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). One of the most relevant programs in which teaching is mainly based on PBL is the Master’s Degree in Space Systems (MUSE3) of the UPM, managed by Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad
“Ignacio Da Riva4 (IDR/UPM) (Álvarez-Romero, Roibás-Millán, Pindado, PérezÁlvarez, and Sanz-Andrés 2020; Álvarez-Romero, Roibás-Millán, Pindado, PérezÁlvarez,
Cubas, et al. 2020; Pindado et al. 2016, 2017; Elena Roibás-Millán et al. 2018). This is a center within UPM mainly specialized in three different research
areas: 1) space engineering projects, 2) civil aerodynamics, and 3) wind speed sensors calibration.
The academic environment at IDR/UPM Institute is a mix of three different activities: 1) Research, 2) Teaching, and 3) Engineering consulting. From the very first moment, these activities have been interconnected as a way to boost research and improve the quality of teaching continuously. On the other hand, graduates that worked at IDR/UPM during their Bachelor or Master degrees seem to be very welcome at their first job in engineering companies, as they have gained professional skills which reduce the initial transition period at the aforementioned companies.