Abstract:

Project Based Learning techniques offer a collection of tools and criteria with great potential for the renewal of the teaching-learning process (Domingo, 2015). Problem-based and project-based learning is a recognized worldwide education practice that can produce soft skills, professional skills and knowledge in students. For this, it uses teamwork, unstructured problems, exemplary and real projects, teacher support and social engagement encouraging cooperation and collaboration (Rodríguez-Mesa, Kolmos and Guerra, 2017).

The Technical School of Computer Engineering in the Universitat Politècnica de València is no stranger to possible changes of improvement, and in that sense, it has defined an Educational Innovation and Improvement Project with the title “Project Based Learning in Engineering Computing Degree ". Faculty of the Information Systems branch is becoming part of this initiative by designing a joint project. The subjects in the branch that are making the joint project are Business Models, Design and Management of Databases, and Integrated Information Systems in Organizations. All of them are included in the fourth course.

The general objective of the joint project is that students can be able to obtain knowledge, skills in techniques and methods for solving problems in the field of information systems demanded by organizations.
The scope regarding the outcome of the project will be that each student team develops a different project, proposed by the team itself, but guided by lecturers.

The project to be proposed to students is:
The creation of a company, analyzing its business processes, the needs of its information system, identifying existing business IT solutions in the market that allow to cover these needs, and designing a database that allows storing information of a particular aspect of that company.

Thus, the student uses the context of the project as a case study for the application and acquisition of the knowledge of the subjects, and develops a realistic product as a result of the project.
The proposed project requires skills and abilities discussed in the three participating subjects to achieve the objectives.
The design of the proposal has required coordination between the participating subjects, among other things, of the calendar that each subject addresses, the establishment of joint teams of students or the design of deliverables.

About conclusions drawn from the design we can say that:
i) The coordinated project gives prominence to the students and puts the focus on the work process with an interdisciplinary perspective between subjects.
ii) This approach will require self-management mechanisms for students.
iii) The completion of the project requires a coordination effort between the participating subjects.
iv) It is expected that this approach will facilitate the work in transversal competences in a more explicit way.
v) The importance in the change of the evaluation method (combination of competences collected from the different subjects and their integration by the students).

Acknowledgement:
This work has been carried out within the framework of the Educational Innovation and Improvement Project ref. ETSINF-1 " Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos en Ingeniería Informática " of the Universitat Politècnica de València.

Keywords:

PBL, Project Based Learning, Information Systems.