An industry-based and problem-based learning approach
Due to its university-industry cooperation approach and philosophy, Mondragon University’s Faculty of Engineering (EPS-MU) fosters the implementation of a project based learning (PBL) approach based on current industry demands. This new learning methodology involves industry within the whole PBL project; starting with the introduction of an organisation’s problem, ending with the students’ project proposals. This approach helps students to refine their soft skills in addition to getting a deeper understanding of their technical, creative and managerial skills in an industrial environment full of technological and market uncertaintes. Therefore, this Industry-Based Problem-Based (IB-PBL) approach gives students the opportunity to gain a range of experiences which will prepare them to contribute to the needs of companies. Moreover, the previous academic course, 2013-2014, was the second time that the experience was applied; thus, it is a quite novel methodology.
Furthermore, in order to facilitate the involvement of companies, the Business Acceleration Center of Mondragon is a core collaborator of the experience. BAC Mondragon is designed to promote the launching processes of the new enterprise initiatives in the advanced services sector and has strong ties with almost all cooperatives from MONDRAGON corporation. This collaboration provides a direct contact with companies, facilitating their participation within the IB-PBL.
* The case was extracted from the UIIN Good Practice Series 2014 – Case Studies on Engaged and Entrepreneurial Universities. Arno Meerman & Thorsten Kliewe (eds.) Authors: Leire Markuerkiaga, Nekane Errasti and Juan Ignacio Igartua
