Educational Project Using the ITM’s Toolbox: Engineering for a Sustainable Society

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this work is to implement an educational methodology from the Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano (ITM) Toolbox, to achieve in Electronic Technology students, the appropriation of soft skills to solve social problems from applied engineering in favour of a sustainable society. Theoretical framework: The Toolbox to develop the international profile of students proposed, for the development of the methodology, the tool "Global Profile Competencies" that was selected, which states that for the development of a student's global profile, soft skills and professional skills must be covered. Method: The methodology contemplates six phases that are developed throughout a semester, the first three phases require six classes of a subject, the rest of the phases require partially directed independent work time. A comparison is made of the group intervened with the methodology against a group of similar conditions from the immediately previous year, and a comparison between the projects presented in the same year by students from other groups who were not intervened. Results and conclusion: The effectiveness of the methodology is verified by ensuring that all the students of the intervened group focus their projects on the proposed orientation and are recognized by the juries of a Sample of Classroom Projects. Implications of the research: In the first stage of application of the tool, generic and specific competences were chosen. The soft skills selected: Commitment to its socio-cultural environment, Social Responsibility and Citizen Commitment, as the necessary framework to establish the Engineering for a Sustainable Society methodology. Originality: In the context of sustainability, this work sought the appropriation of soft skills typical of the global engineer in the students of Electronics Technology of the ITM as part of their training.