Engineering and Science Modeling Course: Students Explore Engineering and Sciences

Our institution, a private multi-campus Mexican university, is changing its educational model from traditional lecture instruction to challenge-based learning that emphasizes the development of specific competencies. Entering the School of Engineering and Sciences, students take the Engineering and Science Modeling course to introduce students to the university and its educational model by exploring four avenues: Bioengineering and Chemical Process, Innovation and Transformation, Computer Science and Information Technologies, and Applied Sciences. In this contribution, we report an overview of student satisfaction toward achieving the course's specific objectives, the students' perception of the importance of each avenue, and their perceptions of difficulty and time demands. We surveyed 1,499 students enrolled in programs in all four avenues of the School of Engineering and Sciences after completing the introductory course. The overall results of the survey showed a high level of student satisfaction. The students perceived that the course effectively conveyed the avenue contents and how the educational model works to develop and assess competencies. They valued having explored the different avenues of the school. The results also highlighted areas to improve to save students time in implemented activities. The latter could be due to the course's implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e., through synchronous distance education. Finally, the course also helped students reflect on their degree choices by making them solve problems they would not have faced if they did not take the course.