Abstract:

This paper describes a collaborative educational initiative between the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), conducted under the innovative project "reactOres: Diseño y Simulación". The project addresses the gap in sustainability training during the early years of the degree by implementing active learning strategies in two core third-year subjects: Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE) and Simulation and Optimization of Chemical Processes (SOCP).

The study employs an active learning methodology where students actively build knowledge through social interaction and hands-on experience. A central pillar of this initiative is the inter-university collaboration that leverages the laboratory facilities of both UPV/EHU and UPC. This partnership allows students to conduct experiments on Residence Time Distribution (RTD) using different reactor configurations available at each site, such as tank reactors in series or tubular systems. By sharing experimental procedures and results, students gain a comprehensive understanding of hydrodynamic behavior across diverse systems, mirroring real-world inter-institutional engineering data sharing.

A key objective of the project is the development of teamwork competencies and project planning skills. Students are organized into functional groups (typically four members) and must manage the organization of specific functions to ensure successful collaboration. The workflow requires rigorous team coordination to develop shared experimental protocols for RTD analysis and industrial process evaluation; conduct structured discussions to reach a group consensus on the relevance of each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the studied process, assigning scores from 0 to 10 based on their collective deliberation; and coordinate project milestones, such as the creation of a final infographic in the SOCP course that synthesizes their findings and justifies the selection of the most relevant SDGs.

The effectiveness of this collaborative and planning-heavy approach was measured through pre- and post-course questionnaires. The results indicate a significant increase in SDG awareness, which rose from 22% to 78%, and an improved understanding of the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic), increasing from 33% to 78%. Initially, students tended to overlook socially-oriented goals, but through continuous contact and the analysis of local company cases they developed a more holistic view of engineering's impact. Furthermore, by managing the complexity of shared data and diverse reactor setups, students moved from a purely theoretical perspective to an evidence-based, critical understanding of sustainable reactor design.

This cross-university initiative demonstrates that structured project planning and inter-institutional data sharing are vital for fostering both technical and transversal competencies. By coordinating efforts across different laboratories and reactor configurations, students not only master the principles of Chemical Reaction Engineering but also acquire the essential skills in teamwork and sustainability required to lead the transformation toward a more responsible industry.

Keywords:

Chemical Engineering, Residence Time Distribution (RTD), Teamwork Competencies, Team Coordination, Inter-university Collaboration, SDGs, Project Planning.