Abstract:

Transversal competences are a fundamental pillar of the educational model at Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), as they promote the development of personal, social and ethical skills that students need for their academic and professional growth. These competences are developed in both, bachelor's and master's degrees, and are integrated into course-level teaching methodologies to promote the acquisition of specific skills and embody the institutional values of innovation, sustainability, quality, and progress. One of the five transversal competences defined at UPV is "Teamwork and leadership", which encompasses the ability to engage in effective teamwork, undertake responsibilities and leadership roles, and work towards shared objectives through role management, effective communication and conflict resolution.

The present work was carried out in the "Industrial Processes in Chemical Engineering" course (4th year, 1st semester, Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering at UPV), which has an average of 80 students each academic year and is assigned the transversal competence “Teamwork and leadership” and specifically the learning outcome "Contribute to the search for solutions to challenges or projects demonstrating empathy and assertiveness when sharing ideas, reflections and arguments within collaborative work". The course includes several group-based activities, which provide an ideal framework for developing and assessing this competence in students.

Specific self-assessment questionnaires were designed and administered in two groups of activities involving teams of 3 to 5 students:
1) Classroom activity, focused on the preparation of a flow diagram and
2) Laboratory practices, where students carry out experimental work and collect the results. Both activities adopt group dynamics that require coordination, task distribution and effective communication.

The main aim is to analyse the results obtained through surveys and to propose a self-grading rubric to systematise the assessment of the assigned learning outcome. In the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years, students completed the questionnaires on a voluntary basis at the end of the classroom and laboratory activities, providing qualitative and quantitative data on individual involvement, leadership and team dynamics. The analysis of the results has enabled the development of a rubric that will systematise the collection of information to assess this competence, as well as detect the limitations of the used method. From the responses, three main limitations have been identified: self-perception bias, the desire to please the professors, and the lack of external validation, which hinders the objectivity of the data. However, students perceive self-assessment as a useful tool to identify strengths and areas for improvement and become more aware of their role within the group.

The experience confirms that the development of “Teamwork and leadership" competence requires a holistic approach. Although self-assessment has limitations, it encourages students to reflect on and take ownership of their role within the team. As an improvement proposal, the implementation of a mixed methodology that combines self-assessment with peer assessment is proposed, with the aim of gaining objectivity and obtaining a more complete perspective on group dynamics.

Keywords:

Chemical Engineering, Grading rubric, Leadership, Self-assessment, Teamwork, Transversal competences.