Abstract:

Higher education is necessarily characterised by the constant pursuit of innovation in its multiple aspects. One of the issues which has been recently addressed with great interest is that of preparing graduates to join a world of work marked by internationalisation and constant transformation. Up until recently, universities have been concerned with training students in the specific skills of their field, and this has been achieved successfully. However, some international accreditation agencies, as well as employers, have noticed that students lack a series of transversal competences with are necessary to perform successfully in the professional world of engineering. These are competences such as leadership, effective communication, ethical and environmental responsibility, solving contemporary problems, etc. In view of this, the Universitat Politècnica de València has decided to enrich its degree curricula by adding 13 transversal competences. It has also promoted, up till now, two publications on innovation and educational improvement projects to implement the inclusion of these competences.

In this report we analyse the paradigm shift that competence-based education implies. We also explain the transversal competences our University has committed to, and we specify some of the innovation and educational improvement projects currently underway at the School of Design Engineering (ETSID). These are different projects that address the implementation and assessment of transversal competences. The projects have also been reviewed by the Valencian Agency of Assessment and Foresight of the Valencian Government. All of them have obtained excellent ratings and have received financing.

Keywords:

Educational innovation, transversal competences, engineering.