Abstract:

The generational changes that we witness in universities have motivated us as teachers to innovate in teaching-learning techniques. At Tecnológico de Monterrey, a new educational model based on the development of skills was launched in 2019; In this model, the role of the teacher evolved from being transmitters of knowledge to developers of skills. Now, universities must ensure that they are educating for life and providing students with the necessary tools to face a personal, professional, or academic challenges.

A new innovative teaching-learning model is needed to support lecturer activities and student activities in achieving skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration to answer the problems. Problem-based learning (PBL) is based on active and collaborate learning, where the students can work on complex, real-world problems. Students learn material better when they engage it actively rather than absorb it passively. With this as a reference, the educational innovation mentioned below is developed.

As teachers, we have the responsibility to ensure that students are effectively developing solid and comprehensive competencies that help them solve challenges and problems of the present and the future. Derived from this, an educational innovation focused on learning based on challenges or problems was developed and implemented where students were able to apply the theoretical knowledge of the classes and develop the transversal competencies of entrepreneurship and conscious leadership.

It is important to mention that these two competencies were selected in response to the demands and problems experienced in our environment. In Mexico, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) contribute 52% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generate 72% of employment in the country. That is why it is essential for us to strengthen the competency of entrepreneurship and conscious leadership and for our students to become agents of change in our country.

The Educational innovation implied that, in one week, students were able to develop an entrepreneurial initiative that responded to local, national, or global problems. This entrepreneurship initiative was linked to two national contests: “Heineken Green Challenge” and “Cueva de Lobos de incMTY”. The fact that the students visualized that their work would be exhibited on these two national platforms motivated and encouraged them to really work on viable and scalable proposals.

The problems that the students had to address according to the “Heineken Green Challenge” were climate change, lack of drinking water in communities, inefficient use of water and wastewater waste. On the other hand, for the “incMTY Wolf Cave” contest, the problems to be resolved were linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.

This strategic alliance that was made with both instances, “Heineken Green Challenge” and “Cueva de Lobos de incMTY”, allowed the students to put into practice the knowledge acquired in the subject and be able to design a proposed solution.

The objectives to be achieved with this innovation model were:
1. Develop entrepreneurship and conscious leadership competences.
2. Increase collaborative and self-directed learning.
3. Develop soft skills as communication and reasoning in social situations.

The results obtained after applying this educational innovation with a focus on Collaborative and Problem-based Learning confirm the previously mentioned hypotheses.

Keywords:

Experiential, active, learning, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, competences, skills.