European project semester: 30 ECTS of PBL in sustainability with multicultural and multidisciplinary bachelor students groups
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Since 1991, the Technical University of Catalonia has focussed on introducing Sustainability
education in all its engineering and architectural programmes through two environmental plans
(1996-2000, 2000-2005), and currently through the UPC Sustainable 2015 [1] plan. Under this
framework, the School of Engineering of Vilanova i la Geltru (EPSEVG) has designed and
coordinated the European Project Semester (EPS), an innovative learning programme which
responds to the challenges of society and the European Higher Education Area.
EPS trains engineering students by applying Project Based Learning in intercultural and
multidisciplinary groups. The working language is English and the programme is designed for
1st cycle (Bachelor) degrees. The EPS programme offered at the EPSEVG emphasises the
introduction of competences in sustainability [2] and human technology.
The main objective of the EPS is to improve the learning outcomes and competences of
engineering students in relation to communication and teamwork skills, the ability to work in
intercultural settings, and the ability to work in real multidisciplinary projects with students from
different degree backgrounds.
The EPS is divided into seminars (worth 10 ECTS) and a project (worth 20 ECTS). The
seminars include courses in Sustainable Technologies, Business and Sustainability and Human
Technology, among others. The projects are proposed by local companies and research
groups. Since 2008 the number of participants has increased from 9 in 2008 to 30 in 2011. The
students, who have participated in 15 projects, have come from 16 different European and
North American universities and from over 18 different academic disciplines.
This paper shows the design methodology used in the EPS programme its structure and the
sustainability competences achieved by the students.
[1] Herbert W. Marsh,et al. SEEQ: A Reliable, Valid, and Useful Instrument for Collecting Students' Evaluations of University Teaching. , 1982 .
[2] Peter Blaze Corcoran,et al. Introduction: higher education for sustainable development , 2002 .
[3] Enric Trullols Farreny,et al. "EPS2EVG" European Project Semester a l'EPSEVG. Introducció de competències transversals en sostenibilitat als títols de Grau. , 2007 .
[4] Karel Mulder,et al. Engineering education in sustainable development , 2004 .