Abstract:

Introduction:
One of the main axes of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda is to “transform the University into an institution that promotes sustainable development, inclusion and social commitment”. To this end, the UPV/EHU sets some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that must be included in the students’ curricular development. In this sense, Bachelor’s thesis allows students to develop highly specific transversal competencies that will later be of great use in the professional and social sphere, and it could also be an ideal tool to promote social commitment as well as several challenges of sustainable development in the teaching curriculum.

Objective:
The aims of this project were:
(i) to integrate crosscutting competencies and social commitment to the SDGs in the Bachelor’s thesis carried out by students from different degrees related to Health Sciences and
(ii) to encourage interaction among the students throughout the process.

Methodology:
The following SDGs were included in the project: Good health and Well-being (SDG3) and Quality Education (SDG4). Undergraduates from the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing and the Faculty of Pharmacy worked cooperatively to develop their Bachelor’s thesis; all related to the overall topic "Health and aging". Three working sessions were planned to promote cooperative learning. In the first session, the participants introduced their projects and discussed how the collaborative work could result in a common profit. In the second session, the students pooled their knowledge in order to integrate it in their respective final projects. In the third session, the students made an oral presentation of their works to receive feedback from their fellows to improve the work before their official defence. During this process, the students developed their Bachelor’s thesis autonomously (inquiry/research-based learning, RBL). Satisfaction surveys were conducted to gather the students’ opinion.

Results:
Initially, 13 undergraduates joined the project, of which eight responded to an intermediate survey related to the development of the project. Seven students positively valued the interaction with their supervisors and with students from other grades. Of these eight students, 6 responded to the final survey. In all cases, the students valued very positively the effect of the methodology on a deeper knowledge of the subject and the tutor's work. In addition, they pointed out that this type of methodology should be used more often in undergraduate studies.

Conclusions:
The proposed methodology had a positive impact on the development of transversal competences such as teamwork and social engagement, as well as on the incorporation of several SDGs to the teaching curriculum. These competencies are the key to obtain a global and multidisciplinary vision of social needs; as future professionals of the health system, these skills are basic to drive a social transformation in the improvement of the health and aging relationship.

Keywords:

Bachelor Thesis, Sustainability, Health science.