P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Mas de les Valls, E., Canals Casals, L., Do ia-Ce ezo, A.,
Fe e -Ma í, L., & Fossas, E. (2025). Whole-Ins i u ion App oach o T ans o m
Indus ial Enginee ing S udies a ETSEIB-UPC. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G.,
Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean
Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17631531.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
WHOLE-INSTITUTION APPROACH TO TRANSFORM INDUSTRIAL
ENGINEERING STUDIES AT ETSEIB-UPC
E. Mas de les Valls a,1, L. Canals Casals b, A. Do ia-Ce ezo c,
L. Fe e -Ma í d, E. Fossas e
a Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya, Ba celona, Spain, 000-0003-0134-0325
b Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya, Ba celona, Spain, 0000-0002-4791-9917
c Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya, Ba celona, Spain, 0000-0001-9352-066X
d Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya, Ba celona, Spain, 0000-0003-0606-3523
e Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya, Ba celona, Spain, 0000-0002-3589-6092
Con e ence Key A eas: Cu iculum de elopmen and eme ging cu iculum models
in enginee ing, Sus ainabili y and socie y in enginee ing
Keywo ds: Pedagogical inno a ion, ac i e lea ning, ins i u ional change, ou each,
di e si y in STEM.
ABSTRACT
Indus ial enginee ing educa ion in Spain has adi ionally been cha ac e ized by
igo ous academic challenges and a highly s uc u ed cu iculum, o en ein o cing
ou da ed pe cep ions o enginee s as echnically skilled bu socially de ached
indi iduals. Howe e , con empo a y enginee ing p ac ice demands a mo e holis ic
app oach, in eg a ing echnical, economic, en i onmen al, and social conside a ions.
This pape p esen s LESIE (Li e, Expe ience, and Sha e Indus ial Enginee ing), an
educa ional inno a ion p ojec a he enginee ing school Escola Tècnica Supe io
d’Enginye ia Indus ial de Ba celona (ETSEIB), Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya ·
Ba celonaTech. LESIE, launched in Sep embe 2024, aims o mode nize indus ial
enginee ing educa ion by embedding eal-wo ld socie al challenges in o cu icula,
enhancing mas e ’s deg ee specializa ions h ough ac i e lea ning me hodologies,
and add essing gende and socioeconomic dispa i ies in s uden en olmen .
The p ojec ollows a whole-ins i u ion app oach, le e aging op-down suppo while
os e ing a communi y o p ac ice among mo e han 30 acul y membe s. Key
ini ia i es include in eg a ing case s udies on global ene gy and wa e challenges in o
1 Co esponding Au ho
E. Mas de les Valls
Elisabe .masdeles [email protected]
mul iple cou ses, es uc u ing mas e ’s deg ee specializa ions o emphasize
expe ien ial and p ojec -based lea ning, and implemen ing a ge ed ou each
p og ams o a ac unde ep esen ed s uden s. P elimina y esul s highligh inc eased
acul y engagemen , success ul pilo implemen a ions, and a g owing ins i u ional
commi men o pedagogical ans o ma ion.
LESIE’s s uc u ed ye lexible amewo k o e s a eplicable model o o he
enginee ing ins i u ions seeking o mode nize hei educa ional s a egies. By
demons a ing he e ec i eness o an ins i u ion-wide app oach, his s udy con ibu es
o he b oade discou se on enginee ing educa ion e o m, ad oca ing o scalable and
sus ainable inno a ion.
1 INTRODUCTION
Indus ial enginee ing s udies in Spain a e among he mos adi ional and highly
demanded enginee ing disciplines. I is wo h o ema k ha “indus ial enginee ing” in
Spain means enginee ing in a b oad sense including mechanical, elec ical, chemical,
ma e ials and indus ial enginee ing. These s udies a e o en associa ed wi h igo ous
academic challenges, equi ing s uden s o o e come signi ican echnical di icul ies.
Fu he mo e, indus ial enginee ing s uden s a e commonly pe cei ed as indi iduals
who p e e wo king independen ly, possess s ong echnical compe encies, and
exhibi in o e ed and objec i e-o ien ed cha ac e is ics (Ve din e al., 2018; Cal o-
Iglesias e al., 2022). This pe cep ion con ibu es, a leas in pa , o he low p opo ion
o women pu suing enginee ing deg ees, wi h emale s uden s cu en ly ep esen ing
only 27.3% o unde g adua e enginee ing en olmen s in Spain (Cien í icas en Ci as,
2025). Howe e , his adi ional and educ ionis iew o enginee ing is becoming
ou da ed (Be ge & Sil e & Danielsson, 2019).
Nowadays, enginee ing solu ions mus be de eloped om a holis ic pe spec i e,
conside ing no only echnical and economic ac o s bu also en i onmen al and social
impac s. The u gen need o ans o m enginee ing educa ion—pa icula ly indus ial
enginee ing, gi en i s adi ionally igid s uc u e—is becoming e e mo e appa en .
This ans o ma ion mus be e lec ed no only a he le el o indi idual cou ses bu
also a he ins i u ional le el (D’And ea & Gosling, 2005; Weiss, Ba h, & on Weh den,
2021). Achie ing meaning ul change equi es no jus cu icula e o m bu also e ical
(ac oss academic yea s) and ho izon al (ac oss cou ses wi hin he same le el)
coo dina ion, along wi h a sha ed pedagogical amewo k among acul y membe s.
This pape p esen s an educa ional inno a ion p ojec cu en ly being implemen ed a
he Escola Tècnica Supe io d’Enginye ia Indus ial de Ba celona (ETSEIB), pa o
he Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya · Ba celonaTech (UPC). The ini ia i e aims
o ans o m bo h unde g adua e and mas e ’s deg ee p og ams in indus ial
enginee ing, which oge he en ol mo e han 2,500 s uden s. The p ojec , LESIE (Li e,
Expe ience, and Sha e Indus ial Enginee ing), was launched in Sep embe 2024 and
will un un il Decembe 2026. O e his pe iod, he ini ia i e seeks o:
(1) Raise awa eness among s uden s abou he socie al impac o enginee ing by
in eg a ing case s udies ha demons a e how enginee ing add esses global
challenges, such as ene gy and wa e accessibili y. These cases will be
embedded in mul iple cou ses h oughou unde g adua e and mas e ’s
p og ams, allowing s uden s o explo e hem in dep h and connec hei lea ning
o eal-wo ld issues.
(2) Enhance he lea ning expe ience in mas e ’s deg ee specializa ions by
implemen ing ac i e lea ning me hodologies and designing ailo ed
ins uc ional models o each b anch o indus ial enginee ing.
(3) Challenge s e eo ypes and misconcep ions abou indus ial enginee ing by
making isible he ongoing ans o ma ions in he ield and hei ele ance o
con empo a y socie al needs.
(4) Iden i y and dissemina e bes p ac ices wi hin he ins i u ion and he b oade
academic communi y o os e knowledge sha ing and widesp ead adop ion o
e ec i e eaching s a egies.
To achie e his ans o ma ion, he p ojec ollows a whole-ins i u ion app oach,
le e aging he hie a chical s uc u e o he ins i u ion o d i e educa ional inno a ion.
This s uc u ed app oach is complemen ed by he expe ise, insigh s, and pedagogical
au onomy o acul y membe s. A la ge numbe o educa o s—mo e han 30—a e
ac i ely pa icipa ing in LESIE, o ming a communi y o p ac ice dedica ed o
ad ancing indus ial enginee ing educa ion. Facul y membe s a e p o ided wi h
eaching wo kload educ ions o suppo he ime and e o equi ed o he new
eaching model, and 39 s uden s will ecei e lea ning ellowships o con ibu e o he
p ojec .
Despi e he e ec i eness o whole-ins i u ion app oaches in d i ing la ge-scale
educa ional change, such s a egies emain unde epo ed in he li e a u e. Too o en,
educa ional e o ms depend on a ew pionee ing educa o s, which limi s he scalabili y
o inno a ion (D’And ea & Gosling, 2005; Weiss, Ba h, & on Weh den, 2021). This
s udy con ibu es o he academic communi y—especially wi hin enginee ing
educa ion—by documen ing a eplicable ins i u ional model ha accele a es he
necessa y ans o ma ions in esponse o an e ol ing educa ional landscape.
2 CONTEXT AND PRACTICAL WORK
2.1 The highe educa ion con ex
The ETSEIB is an enginee ing school ounded in 1851 ha cu en ly o e s wo
unde g adua e p og ams and wel e mas e 's deg ees. The Bachelo 's Deg ee in
Indus ial Technologies Enginee ing (GETI) and he Mas e 's Deg ee in Indus ial
Enginee ing (MUEI) a e he lagship p og ams o ETSEIB. Fo he 2024-25 academic
yea , acco ding o publicly a ailable da a om he UPC websi e, nea ly 2,000 s uden s
a e en olled in he GETI p og am, 74% o whom a e men, while he MUEI p og am
has close o 800 s uden s, 66% o whom a e men. No ably, 68% o GETI s uden s
come om p i a e high schools, unde sco ing he p edominan ly high socioeconomic
backg ound o he s uden body. This ini ial insigh in o he s uden p o ile al eady
highligh s he p essing need o change o a ac a mo e di e se s uden body.
Due o he la ge-scale en olmen , pa icula ly in GETI, he e is a pe sis en eluc ance
o shi away om a eache -cen ed educa ional app oach and adop mo e inno a i e
eaching me hodologies. Al hough an inc easing numbe o p o esso s a e in eg a ing
ac i e lea ning me hods in he class oom, in o mal in e iews wi h s uden s sugges
ha eaching a ETSEIB emains la gely adi ional, elying on lec u e-based and
impe sonal ins uc ion. As a possible consequence, a numbe o p i a e academies
specializing in uni e si y ein o cemen ha e eme ged, pulling en olled s uden s ou o
class ooms o p o ide mo e pe sonalized ins uc ion aimed a passing inal exams
(Mas de les Valls e . al, 2024).
In 2024, he MUEI mas e 's p og am unde wen a e alida ion p ocess, leading o
signi ican changes in i s cu iculum, including he es uc u ing o exis ing cou ses and
he in oduc ion o new ones. This e ised cu iculum will be implemen ed s a ing in
Sep embe 2025. The LESIE p ojec is le e aging his ansi ion as an oppo uni y o
d i e pedagogical ans o ma ion no only a he mas e 's le el bu also in he
unde g adua e p og am.
LESIE is unded h ough a UPC educa ional ans o ma ion g an o depa men s
and/o schools wi hin he uni e si y. This unding suppo s, among o he s, wo key
aspec s ha a e essen ial o maximizing he p ojec 's impac on he eaching
communi y in ol emen : (1) ecogni ion o acul y dedica ion, wi h a educ ion in
eaching hou s o compensa e o hei in ol emen in he p ojec , and (2) he
appoin men o an associa e school di ec o o e ec i ely coo dina e LESIE. These
wo unding suppo s ep esen a o mal acknowledgmen o he e o s owa d
educa ional e o m—an aspec ha has long been ad oca ed o wi hin he UPC
eaching s a .
2.2 Theo e ical backg ound
LESIE is g ounded in wo main heo e ical models. The i s emphasizes a holis ic
app oach o enginee ing, in eg a ing i s en i onmen al and socie al impac s. The
second ocuses on he educa o ’s ole in enhancing lea ning and os e ing s uden
achie emen .
Enginee ing Educa ion and Socie al Impac
Enginee s play a i al ole in ad ancing he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals (SDGs).
Achie ing hese goals equi es a sys ems hinking app oach in enginee ing educa ion,
which p omo es a deep unde s anding o complex, in e connec ed socie al and
echnical challenges (Meadows, 2008; Yo k e al., 2019). This pe spec i e has he
po en ial o ans o m enginee ing p ac ice and mus , he e o e, be embedded in
enginee ing cu icula (De los Rios & Cha nley, 2017).
A sys ems hinking app oach can be complemen ed by he Enginee ing o Social
Jus ice F amewo k (Riley, 2008), which encou ages enginee s o c i ically e lec on
he socie al and en i onmen al consequences o hei designs. Aligning enginee ing
educa ion wi h social jus ice has been shown o inc ease en olmen among
unde ep esen ed g oups and educe pe sis en gende , class, and e hnici y gaps by
demons a ing how enginee ing knowledge can be le e aged o se e unde se ed
communi ies and add ess social inequali ies (Leydens & Lucena, 2017).
The Role o Educa o s in Lea ning Enhancemen
Acco ding o Cons uc i e Alignmen Theo y (Biggs, 2003), educa o s enhance
s uden ’s achie emen s by designing lea ning expe iences ha align cu iculum
objec i es, eaching me hodologies, and assessmen s a egies. Among a ious
ins uc ional app oaches, ac i e lea ning has been p o en o imp o e s uden
pe o mance (F eeman e al., 2014) and na ow achie emen gaps o
unde ep esen ed s uden s (Theobald e al., 2020).
Howe e , ac i e lea ning alone is no su icien o maximize s uden lea ning. The
T ans o ma ional Teaching Theo y (Sla ich & Zimba do, 2012) ad oca es o a
combina ion o me hods, including s uden -cen ed lea ning, collabo a i e lea ning,
expe ien ial lea ning, and p oblem-based lea ning, o os e academic success and
pe sonal g ow h.
Fu he mo e, hese app oaches mus be ein o ced h ough enhanced eedback and
o ma i e assessmen , which play a c ucial ole in guiding s uden lea ning and
imp o ing ou comes (McCa hy & Ne ille & Pope, 2025; Ha ie & Timpe ley, 2007).
His o ically, imp o emen s in eaching ha e o en elied on ial and e o , sel -
e lec ion, and obse a ion. Howe e , when an educa o adop s he app oach o a
schola ly eache by in eg a ing c i ically e lec i e p ac ice, e idence-based eaching,
and heo y-guided ins uc ion in o an educa o ’s app oach, i leads o mo e e ec i e
eaching, ul ima ely maximizing s uden lea ning ou comes (Po e & Kus a, 2011).
2.3 Me hodology
As men ioned abo e, a whole-ins i u ion app oach (D’And ea & Gosling, 2005), also
e e ed o as a collabo a i e pa adigm change (Weiss, Ba h & on Weh den, 2021),
is being implemen ed. Wi h s ong suppo om op managemen , his app oach
acili a es a o mal collabo a i e p ocess in ol ing a signi ican numbe o acul y
membe s and s uden s. The op-managemen eam coo dina es h ee main wo k
packages: (WP1) Enginee ing educa ion and socie al impac , (WP2) Enhanced
lea ning expe ience in mas e ’s deg ee specializa ions, and (WP3) Ou each and
STEM oca ions.
The LESIE coo dina ion eam de ines he case s udies o WP1 and he esea ch
p o ocol o WP2. Howe e , each educa o esponsible o implemen ing he p oposed
ans o ma ion in hei cou se has ull au onomy o choose hei me hodology, as long
as ac i e lea ning s a egies and c i ical hinking a e ensu ed. Following he schola ly
eaching model desc ibed abo e, educa o s a e encou aged o e lec on hei
p ac ices and ga he e idence. The p ojec also seeks o d i e change while
p ese ing ETSEIB’s co e alues: igo and e o .
To os e a s ong communi y o p ac ice wi hin ETSEIB, LESIE also includes he
o ganiza ion o annual eaching con e ences, whe e p ojec p og ess is e iewed, and
key aspec s o LESIE impac ing he academic communi y a e discussed.
To assess he impac o LESIE and moni o i s p og ess, key pe o mance indica o s
ha e been es ablished. These include, among o he s: The numbe o case s udies
designed and he numbe o cou ses in eg a ing hem (WP1), he numbe o pilo
p ojec s ca ied ou and he numbe o mas e ’s specializa ions ha ha e unde gone
signi ican ans o ma ion (WP2), and he numbe o ou each ac i i ies conduc ed wi h
seconda y schools and he numbe o collabo a ions wi h o he uni e si ies (WP3).
3 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
The LESIE p ojec has es ablished a communi y o p ac ice among i s pa icipan s.
Howe e , his communi y ex ends beyond he LESIE p ojec i sel . One clea indica ion
o his is he high le el o engagemen in he Ma ch 2025 Teaching Con e ence, which
egis e ed 135 pa icipan s—28% s uden s, 21% adminis a i e and labo a o y s a ,
and he es acul y membe s. No ably, 19% o ETSEIB acul y ook pa in he e en .
Below, we b ie ly summa ize he esul s achie ed in hese i s mon hs o LESIE and
ou line he upcoming ac i i ies.
3.1 Enginee ing Educa ion and Socie al Impac (WP1)
Wi hin he ew mon hs since LESIE p ojec s a ed, signi ican p og ess has been
made in in eg a ing global wa e and ene gy challenges in o educa ion a ETSEIB.
Real-wo ld examples o in e na ional coope a ion p ojec s based on human igh s o
wa e and ene gy a e being used o os e a sys ems hinking app oach o enginee ing.
Case s udies de i ed om hese p ojec s a e being de eloped o be in eg a ed in o
mul iple cou ses, emphasizing hei socie al impac wi hin a social jus ice amewo k.
A su ey among s uden s and eache s e ealed ha while up o 40 cou ses ac oss
deg ees and mas e 's p og ams a e easible candida es o inco po a ing hese opics,
only h ee ha e ac i ely done so. To b idge his gap and o each he goal o ha ing a
leas 20 cou ses in ol ed, a ou -hou leng h aining cou se o ETSEIB eache s is
being designed o be held in May, 2025. Wi hin he cou se, eigh eal in e na ional
coope a ion p ojec s will be p esen ed o ep esen he global No h and Sou h
eali ies: The cases o ene gy po e y in Ba celona and wa e sca ci y in Ca alonia
ep esen he global No h (Empowe Med, 2023), while ene gy ha es ing and
dis ibu ion p ojec s in Boli ia and Pe ú (Enginye iaSenseF on e es, n.d.), and
d inking wa e pumping, ainwa e collec ion, and wa e dis ibu ion in Mozambique,
Pa aguay, and El Sal ado om he NGO enginee ing wi hou bo de s (h ps://es -
ca .o g/) a e ela ed o he global Sou h eali ies.
In ac , a pilo p ojec on ene gy dis ibu ion op imiza ion o he Boli ian case has
al eady been success ully conduc ed in he Quan i a i e Op imiza ion Me hods
subjec , ecei ing posi i e eedback om he s uden s (Juanpe a e al. 2025).
Addi ionally, an in e ac i e Genially® p esen a ion is unde cons uc ion o engage
s uden s and acul y membe s in hese in e na ional coope a ion p ojec s and hei
in eg a ion in o cu icula.
Looking ahead, 10 inal heses a e planned by he p ojec 's end, wi h h ee cu en ly
in p og ess: one add essing wa e sca ci y managemen in Ca alonia and wo ocused
on ene gy ha es ing and dis ibu ion in A ica.
3.2 Enhanced lea ning expe ience in mas e ’s deg ee specializa ions (WP2)
Se en o he wel e specializa ions in he Mas e ’s in Indus ial Enginee ing p og am
(MUEI) ha e chosen o pa icipa e in he LESIE p ojec , an achie emen in i sel . The
me hodological changes being implemen ed a y widely ac oss specializa ions. In one
specializa ion, he cu en eigh cou ses will be consolida ed in o h ee b oade
cou ses, c ea ing a mo e in eg a ed and na u al lea ning expe ience. Addi ionally,
labo a o y p ac ice hou s will be inc eased, a s a egy also adop ed by o he
specializa ions o enhance expe ien ial lea ning. P ojec -based lea ning and ield isi s
will also be inco po a ed, os e ing a ans o ma ional eaching app oach.
Some specializa ions a e in oducing challenge-based lea ning, some imes in ol ing
indus y pa ne s o s uc u ed as s uden compe i ions. O he s a e in eg a ing
ad anced Building In o ma ion Modelling (BIM) ools in o hei cu iculum. One
specializa ion is explo ing he possibili y o dual educa ion, whe e pa o he lea ning
objec i es would be achie ed wi hin companies, unde uni e si y supe ision and
e alua ion.
A common ini ia i e ac oss all specializa ions is he in eg a ion o da a science. To
suppo his, LESIE has o ganized a acul y aining cou se a ETSEIB. The high
numbe o en olmen s has led o he scheduling o a second edi ion o he cou se.
As p e iously men ioned, he LESIE p ojec acknowledges he acul y’s e o s by
educing hei eaching load. Howe e , in 30% o cases, i has been challenging o ind
quali ied eplacemen s, highligh ing he need o a ho ough analysis o acul y s a ing
and con ac condi ions. Beyond acul y ecogni ion, 39 lea ning schola ships ha e
been o e ed, all o which ha e been awa ded, demons a ing s ong s uden in e es
in collabo a ing wi h LESIE.
Two pilo p ojec s a e cu en ly unde way, wi h a leas six mo e planned o he nex
academic yea . Each pilo ollows a p o ocol al eady app o ed by UPC’s e hics
commi ee, ensu ing he p ope collec ion and p ocessing o pe sonal da a.
In o mal in e iews wi h LESIE acul y ha e e ealed ha he heo ies unde pinning
hei eaching app oaches a e o en accep ed unconsciously, sugges ing ha mo e
e o s a e needed o embed a schola ly eaching model wi hin he communi y. This
could be add essed by o e ing a ge ed aining cou ses.
Addi ionally, based on cons uc i e alignmen heo y, he e is a clea need o a
aining cou se on enhanced eedback and o ma i e assessmen (McCa hy, Ne ille
& Pope, 2025; Ha ie & Timpe ley, 2007).
3.3 Ou each and STEM oca ions (WP3)
Ou each ac i i ies aim no only o inc ease in e es in indus ial enginee ing bu also
o challenge s e eo ypes and p econcei ed no ions abou he ield (Cal o-Iglesias e
al., 2022). Se e al s udies ha e al eady explo ed di e se app oaches o ou each
(Je e s, Sa e man & Sa e man, 2004; Gumaelius e al., 2016; Vennix, den B ok &
Taconis, 2018). O pa icula in e es is he wo k o Vennix, den B ok, and Taconis
(2018), which highligh s he impo ance o embedding enginee ing wi hin eal-wo ld
socie al applica ions as a key mo i a o o s uden s. This inding es ablishes a s ong
connec ion be ween WP3 and he ou comes o WP1.
Since all hese indings can be in luenced by he con ex , a quali a i e s udy was
conduc ed o unde s and he pe cep ions o eache s om seconda y schools whe e
ETSEIB has deli e ed wo kshops o p omo ional cou ses. To his end, a su ey was
designed and dis ibu ed o 217 eache s om 144 seconda y schools. The su ey
ga he ed 48 esponses o STEM eache s (56.3% women, 43.8% men) om a b oad
age ange, wi h 29.2% o esponden s unde 25 yea s old and 57% o e 45 yea s old.
Sugges ions on how ETSEIB should design ou each e o s o a ac
unde ep esen ed s uden s—bo h emale s uden s and hose om low-income
amilies—we e collec ed. The p e e ed app oach is ea ly engagemen , s a ing in
p ima y school and coinciding wi h Bian & Leslie & Cimpian (2017). Also, in-pe son
ac i i ies conduc ed wi hin schools a e p e e ed, possibly due o easy- o-coo dina e
cha ac e is ics. Ideally, hese ini ia i es should be led by bo h a male and a emale
enginee ing s uden . Addi ionally, hands-on wo kshops and hacka hons a e highly
ecommended, hough indi idual u o ing sessions a e also well ecei ed.
A seconda y aim o he su ey was o de e mine he ype o s uden pe cei ed as mos
likely o pu sue enginee ing s udies, wi h a ocus on wo key ac o s ha s ill de ine
ETSEIB’s s uden p o ile oday: amily socioeconomic backg ound and gende .
Rega ding amily socioeconomic s a us, 56% o esponden s do no conside i o be
a dis inguishing ac o o enginee ing s uden s. Howe e , 17% belie e ha
enginee ing s uden s ypically come om high-income amilies. Teache s a ibu e his
o wo main easons: he lack o enginee ing ole models o s uden s om lowe -
income backg ounds and he p essu e o ea ly wo k o ce en y o suppo amily
inances.
Rega ding gende , 92% o esponden s belie e ha boys a e mo e in e es ed in
enginee ing s udies, while none conside gi ls o be mo e in e es ed. An addi ional 8%
belie e he e is no signi ican di e ence o a e unsu e. When asked abou he easons
behind he low numbe o emale enginee ing s uden s, he mos decisi e ac o s,
acco ding o eache s, a e he lack o emale ole models in enginee ing and he
pe cep ion ha enginee ing is a male-domina ed ield.
Based on hese indings, he LESIE p ojec can enhance a ac ion o enginee ing by
designing hands-on wo kshops o p ima y and seconda y schools, inc easing he
p esence o ole models (pa icula ly women and indi iduals om low-income
backg ounds), o e ing mo e schola ships, and os e ing an ETSEIB en i onmen
whe e gi ls eel welcomed and encou aged o pu sue enginee ing.
The LESIE p ojec is cu en ly p epa ing hese ini ia i es o implemen a ion du ing he
2025/26 academic yea .
4 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
In i s i s ew mon hs, he LESIE p ojec has al eady p o en success ul in d i ing
change among pa icipa ing acul y. A communi y o p ac ice has been es ablished,
which will con inue o g ow and yield esul s o e ime.
Ins i u ional suppo has been a key ac o in his success, bo h a he decision-making
le el and in he de elopmen o aining ini ia i es.
To u he ampli y LESIE’s impac , e o s a e cu en ly ocused on in e nal
dissemina ion wi hin ETSEIB, aiming o inc ease acul y engagemen wi h he ul ima e
goal o os e ing change ac oss he en i e school.
While he e is s ill much o be done, he amewo k p esen ed he e—along wi h he
p omising p elimina y esul s—demons a es a highly eplicable model o o he
ins i u ions o e ing enginee ing educa ion.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like o exp ess ou since e g a i ude o all he eaching s a , adminis a i e
s a , and s uden s who ha e ac i ely pa icipa ed in he LESIE p ojec , as well as
hose who a e cu en ly con ibu ing o i s de elopmen .
This inno a ion- eaching p ojec has ecei ed unding om he UPC Teaching
Inno a ion P ojec s 2024 Call (Ag eemen CG/2024/02/17, o 24 Ap il 2024).
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