Abstract:

University has as a main objective preparing the students for their future careers and supports their personal development. In scientific and technical studies this implies training practical skills and problem-based learning. However, we found that the curriculum of these studies (particularly in Spain) does not give sufficient relevance to practical learning. The contents of these studies are mainly theoretical and, in general, far from the R&D industrial activities.

According to this problematic in the early 2000´s we decided to overcome these mentioned absences and develop an innovative program for laboratory practicum. This program was associated to the subject “Materials Physics” within the Physics degree in the University of Valladolid. One of the main objectives was put the students in contact with those industrial activities they could face in their potential future jobs. During the program we introduce the students to real R&D work avoiding conventional teaching/learning.

Some of the other peculiar characteristics of the program were:
- The use of real equipments similar to the one used in materials manufacturing companies.
- The promotion of teamwork, the development of skills related to scientific curiosity and the oral presentation of the results in a meeting.
- Develop self-sufficient skills and support a method for the students to discern and interpret results by themselves.

In this program the students, divided in groups, should study a real industrial research query, carrying out a complete characterization of the provided materials to determine the origin of the problem, and proposing a well-founded solution. A detailed description about this program of laboratory practices and tips about its implementation are provided in this work.

Several examples of the topics of the practices are also included together with a detailed description of one exemplary practicum. We also analyze the curriculum of the degree on Physics of the University of Valladolid and compare it with other national and foreign universities. The realization of this innovative program during more than 10 years has permitted obtaining some interesting conclusions that are presented in this work.

Considerations about the effectiveness of this kind of initiatives are provided taking into account an overall evaluation of the academic progress of the students implied on this innovative learning program; leading to recommendations about the inclusion of this kind of learning programs in scientific and technical studies.

Keywords:

Problem-based learning, R&D industrial activities, materials physics.