Abstract:

In the engineering degrees, the students must acquire basic knowledge at the beginning while they need to be given an applied view of their subjects during the last years. Concretely, in the case of the Degree in Materials Engineering, the students must deep in concepts about Materials Science and Engineering during the first years’ subjects. However, third and fourth years’ ones must be oriented to an advanced industrial knowledge. The students have to familiarize themselves with the industrial and engineering framework at National and European level related to Materials Engineering, taking into account the plurality and multidisciplinary nature of the Materials Engineering Degree. The related business sectors are varied such as the automotive, aerospace, civil engineering, construction, etc. For this reason, we proposed two different activities:
1) Learning based in real practical cases
2) Internships in companies

1) Learning based in real practical cases. This methodology consists of learning based on real industrial problems proposed by different industries in which the Materials Science Engineering department is involved. Problems are divided into parts, and each part is analyzed and solved in different subjects under diverse points of view. For example, a real industrial problem about materials can be associated to problems in the selection of material with specified properties (mechanical, thermal or physical), in the choice of design or manufacturing process, etc.

2) Internships in companies. The degree program of Materials Engineering Degree in the University Rey Juan Carlos contains a subject with mandatory criteria which consists of internships in companies. In this subject, which is taken during the fourth year, the student is required to work in a particular company during 250h without any economical retribution. This is very interesting for company and student but, in numerous cases, it is not enough. The companies would like to teach in depth their activities and the way they work. On the other hand, the student would be interested in learning more applied concepts. To face this, we have proposed to a selected group of students the possibility to extend this industrial activity in several parts. First, the students will carry out their mandatory internships. This consists of learning how the company works. If the experience is satisfactory for both, the students could make their Final Degree Project in this company. In this new level, the student must carry out a particular research. Once it is finished, the selected students could continue their high education studies in the Master in Advanced Materials in the University Rey Juan Carlos supported by the company. For that, the student has to make the Final Master Project in a topic related to the company interests. Finally, these students could get a grant supported by the company in order to get their PhD. The supervisors of PhD research will be staff of both entities: University and Industry. This proposal began with collaboration between Foundation for Research, Development and Application of Composite Materials and University Rey Juan Carlos.

Keywords:

Internships in companies.