Project-based learning as a strategy for multi-level training applied to undergraduate engineering students

This study presents a project-based learning methodology whose particularity is the inclusion of training at different levels of undergraduate engineering programs, which allows for the interaction among students from different semesters who work together on a common project. To show the applicability of the proposed methodology, a project for the industrial production of ethanol from sugar cane was considered. Students enrolled in Process Design (9th semester) and Computer-Assisted Technical Design (5th semester), courses included in the engineering programs offered by the Department of Chemical Engineering at Yachay Tech University (Ecuador), jointly developed it. The details of the project were presented to the students of the Introduction to Engineering course (3rd semester) to boost their interest in the engineering as applied science. The activities carried out in each of the courses are described in detail together with a description of how the learning outcomes were achieved thanks to the implementation of a multi-level training strategy. Teamwork and collaborative-integrated learning are the elements highlighted by the students who participated in the project. Some of the innovative aspects of the proposed methodology include professional training and multi-level learning, the development of logical thinking typical of engineers, the knowledge handover associated with the professional activities of process engineers engaged with real-world projects. Additionally, this methodology prizes the industrial experience that professors at the undergraduate level may have by allowing them to contribute with an engineering vision to the training of young people in engineering projects. This study was inspired by the principle of Constructive Alignment and by goal # 4 (quality education) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.