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This paper presents a blended-learning strategy for improving the teaching method applied in the laboratory subject Manufacturing Technologies. The teaching method has been changed from a predominantly teacher-centred to an active learning system with a student-centred focus and e-learning activities. In face-to-face classes, a game-based learning platform has been used. This methodology ensured engaging classes at the same time that provided a useful live feedback for students and teachers. The virtualization of the laboratory was achieved by two different e-learning activities, self-assessment tasks and video clips. These e-learning tools have been used not only to improve the students' learning but also to enhance their motivation. Academic results show a significant improvement after the new blended learning method is applied. Moreover, a student satisfaction survey shows the positive impact of the methodology on the students' engagement and motivation. [Paper presented at the International Conference on University Teaching and Innovation (CIDUI): Learning and Teaching Innovation Impacts (9th, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 5-7 2016.)]

The combination of two macro trends, Information and Communication Technologies' (ICT) proliferation and novel approaches in education, has resulted in a series of opportunities with no precedent in terms of content, channels and methods in education. The present contribution aims to describe the experience of using an automatic spreadsheet corrector, its perceived benefits as well as its impact on academic results. A total of 179 students coursing technical studies attended a basic course on business administration in the framework of which the field work was conducted. Perception assessment of students demonstrates a very good opinion about the learning experience using the proposed ICT tool. The user perception evaluation also shows that it is a valuable learning tool, while students who obtain a high final qualification are the ones that have been positively evaluated in the sessions using the automatic spreadsheet corrector. Beyond these highlighted benefits for students, teachers gain time, effort and workload reduction. The validity of the proposal is tested in the Polytechnic School of the University of Girona in Catalonia (Spain). [Paper presented at the International Conference on University Teaching and Innovation (CIDUI): Learning and Teaching Innovation Impacts (9th, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 5-7 2016.)]

Introduction: The article presents the results of a study on scientific collaboration between Spanish universities and private enterprise, measured in terms of the co-authorship of papers published in international journals. Method: Bibliometric analysis of papers published in journals listed in Scopus in 2003-2011. Indicators were calculated for output, collaboration, standardised impact and publication in highly reputed journals. Analysis: A number of dimensions were explored: (1) publication patterns among domestic companies; (2) subject matter distribution and impact of the papers published; (3) university-company partnering based on papers co-authored by university and private sector researchers; and (4) regional differences. Results: The three fields where production was most intense were biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology, engineering and medicine. Research in collaboration with companies had a lower normalised impact than research conducted by universities alone. The highest volumes of private sector collaboration with Spanish universities were recorded for pharmaceutical companies. Conclusions: Companies' output was observed to decline across the period studied and their academic articles appeared to be less visible than the papers published by other institutions.

The recent phenomenon of worldwide declining enrolments in engineering-related degrees has led to the gradual decrease in the number of engineering graduates. This decrease occurs at a time of increasing demand in the labour market for highly qualified engineers, who are necessary for the implementation of fundamental societal functions. This paper initially presents a survey of practices, which are currently employed by academic institutions in Europe in order to increase the attractiveness of their engineering studies. It then provides a detailed analysis of the benefits and proliferation of distance education to increase attractiveness of engineering studies based on a set of interviews. Results of this study highlight a lack of a distance-learning dimension in the implementation of engineering studies in the European Area and discusses in detail ways in which distance learning can be utilised in engineering studies for the benefit of increasing their attractiveness. It has also been noted that institutions employing distance learning as part of their engineering studies, see this as highly beneficial for their students but also for the academic institution itself with some reservations in terms of the pedagogical adequacy of materials and instructional approaches used in distance education courses.

Teaching electrical and computer software engineers how to configure network services normally requires the detailed presentation of many configuration commands and their numerous parameters. Students tend to find it difficult to maintain acceptable levels of motivation. In many cases, this results in their not attending classes and not dedicating enough time to acquire the required competencies. This paper describes a successful experiment that was able to improve student class attendance, performance, and motivational patterns by using mobile devices in class to provide students with contextualized learning pills. A learning pill is a simple exercise that summarizes some of the key concepts explained in class and promotes reflection and self-study. Each student attending a particular lecture or laboratory session automatically receives a learning pill on his or her mobile phone just after the related concept has been presented. This paper details the scenario used in the experiment and analyzes the performance and motivational patterns of 170 students at the Higher Polytechnic School, Carlos III University of Madrid, Leganes, Spain. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Augmented reality (AR) provides huge opportunities for online teaching in science and engineering, as these disciplines place emphasis on practical training and unsuited to completely nonclassroom training. This paper proposes a new concept in virtual and remote laboratories: the augmented remote laboratory (ARL). ARL is being tested in the first and second years of the new degrees in industrial engineering and computer engineering, respectively, at the School of Engineering, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain. By means of augmented reality techniques, ARL allows the student to experience sensations and explore learning experiences that, in some cases, may exceed those offered by traditional laboratory classes. The effectiveness of this methodology for remote laboratory work is evaluated by comparing it to practical sessions in the laboratory at the university itself with the same group of students. Students completed a questionnaire after having experienced both types of practicals, and the results show that the use of ARL improves student outcomes. As discussed in the paper, the potential of AR to configure different experiments from the same physical configuration is virtually limitless. (Contains 1 table and 14 figures.)

Problem-based learning (PBL) has proved to be a highly successful pedagogical model in many fields, although it is not that common in computer engineering. PBL goes beyond the typical teaching methodology by promoting student interaction. This paper presents a PBL trial applied to a course in a computer engineering degree at the University of Seville, Spain. To promote the reusability and interoperability of the PBL trial, a design-driven approach was used, based on the Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) Learning Design (LD) standard. This paper presents the outcomes of using this method to innovate teaching practices in a blended learning environment. Design and implementation results, as well as users' opinions, are presented and analyzed. (Contains 11 figures.)

This paper describes a novel Electrical Machine and Power Electronic Training Tool (EM&PE[subscript TT]), a methodology for using it, and associated experimental educational activities. The training tool is implemented by recreating a whole power electronics system, divided into modular blocks. This process is similar to that applied when analyzing a piece of industrial equipment by the functions of its various parts. The EM&PE[subscript TT] is divided into five areas: the power block, the electronic switch command, instrumentation, the control system, and the application environment. The training tool lets a user analyze each functional block and the relationships between functional blocks; it can be used either in local or remote mode, thus ensuring optimal effectiveness of the proposed learning methodology. The students can redesign the hardware and software blocks before reassembling them; this allows various different experimental projects to be run concurrently in the same training tool. The results presented here show that EM&PE[subscript TT] improves engineering students' technical skills and their motivation in experimental work. (Contains 14 figures and 1 table.)

This paper describes an educational research experience that took place in the Electrical & Electronics Engineering Master's program offered at the Escuela Universitaria de Ingenieria Tecnica de Telecomunicacion, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The focus is to provide details of the motivation behind and the design and subsequent evaluation of a course adapted to the European Higher Education Area titled "Design for All in the Context of the Information Society." This course may be useful for other engineering educators who design Master's programs and perform research on education in electrical and electronics engineering. The course contents are structured along four axes: disabilities, technical aids, accessibility, and recommendations of the standardization bodies. The results of four years of experience are presented. The course is evaluated according to accepted criteria, highlighting the course scope, pedagogic decisions, and relevance. Based on the analysis of program outcomes, some recommendations are made for undergraduate and postgraduate engineering education programs focusing on disability and technology. (Contains 5 tables, 2 footnotes and 9 figures.)

This paper presents the introduction of problem-based learning (PBL) in a power electronics course at the University of Oviedo, Gijon, Spain, by means of two practical projects: the design and construction of a switching-mode power supply (SMPS) prototype and the static study of a dc-dc converter topology. The goal of this innovation was for students to apply in practice the knowledge they had acquired in theory classes. PBL is known to be a motivating, problem-centered teaching method that brings the real professional world closer to the student. The instructors thus considered PBL to be the most suitable methodology to obtain the desired results. The underlying methodology, task planning, and assessment of these projects will be presented. Furthermore, the influence of the introduction of PBL in practical sessions versus the traditional teaching method will be discussed. Finally, the instructors' reflections and conclusions regarding the application of PBL in this course from 2007-2009 will be presented. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

In this paper, an optimal tuning tool is presented for control structures based on multivariable proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, using genetic algorithms as an alternative to traditional optimization algorithms. From an educational point of view, this tool provides students with the necessary means to consolidate their knowledge on these control structures, which are of particular relevance in control engineering. The graphical user interface designed for the tool allows for the following: the selection of the control structure, the desired decoupling, the type of PID, the analysis of the interaction effects through relative gain array (RGA), the planning of several optimal tuning processes, the comparison of different designs (through graphics or the numeric results obtained), and the management of data files saved during the planned optimal tunings process. The developed tool was made available to students for them to solve a practical problem and, subsequently, the impact of its use was evaluated. (Contains 5 tables and 14 figures.)

ADCs (analog-to-digital converters), especially Pipeline and Sigma-Delta converters, are designed using complex architectures in order to increase their sampling rate and/or resolution. Consequently, the learning of ADC devices also encompasses complex concepts such as multistage synchronization, latency, oversampling, modulation, noise shaping, filtering, or decimation. This paper is focused on a new learning methodology, based on the simulation of the main circuit topologies used in commercial ADCs, in order to understand their working principles more thoroughly. At the same time, the ADC dynamic and static tests are obtained from the simulation results, and their characterization is obtained at an application level. In this way, the methodology combines the microelectronics perspective, at the design level, with the digital signal processing perspective. This methodology saves time in practical classes and encourages self-learning because it does not require special hardware. Moreover, it uses only software tools that are common in electronic engineering, like the OrCAD PSpice simulator, a C compiler, or a hardware description language (HDL) simulator. The methodology has been validated during two consecutive offerings of academic courses in the Telecommunication Engineering curriculum at Vigo University, Vigo, Spain, and the results obtained are discussed. (Contains 11 figures and 8 tables.)

This paper presents the results of a one-year experiment in incorporating active methodologies in a Queueing Systems course as part of the Telecommunication Engineering degree at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, during the period of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area. A problem-based learning methodology has been introduced, and the academic results showed that students achieved higher grades (improvement ranging from 27% up to 50%). The additional effort of students and faculty staff has also been evaluated. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

Ac-powered contactors are extensively used in industry in applications such as automatic electrical devices, motor starters, and heaters. In this work, a practical session that allows students to model and simulate the dynamic behavior of ac-powered electromechanical contactors is presented. Simulation is carried out using a rigorous parametric model of the ac contactor that avoids simplification assumptions and is thoroughly explained. The goal of this practical is to introduce students to the topic of dynamic simulation of real devices. It covers both the transient and the steady-state response of the electromechanical system under study. The proposed methodology is flexible and not particularly time-consuming, and it allows the students easily to change the electromechanical constants of the contactor they are studying. The results of the simulations were compared with experimental data acquired by the students; a close similarity between real and simulated data was observed. The Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Spain, has incorporated the simulation methodology proposed in this paper in a practical session of an electrical engineering course. (Contains 12 figures.)

During the last few years, the number of university students choosing to follow engineering degrees has decreased dramatically in Spain. For that reason, several university departments, in collaboration with some high schools, have developed a range of activities in order to promote a higher enrollment rate, to improve the level of mathematics and physics that students have when entering university, to explode the myth of engineering degrees being difficult studies not within everyone's reach, and to rationalize the curricula of engineering degrees, coordinating all their courses and directing them toward the global objectives of the degree. In this paper, the results of an Outreach Project for Engineering Education (OPEE) comprising four successful activities developed over the last decade at the Higher Technical School of the University of Cordoba, Spain, are reported. Most important is that in the face of the significant decrease of the amount of engineering first-year students observed in Spain in general, and Cordoba in particular, enrollment in the Higher Technical School of the University of Cordoba has remained constant. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

This paper explores both how male and female high school pupils (15-16 years old) perceive the engineering profession and their willingness to pursue a career in this area. A study was performed around a one-day outreach activity, Girls' Day, organized for the first time in Spain. During Girls' Day, students were exposed to specific activities developed for them in engineering research labs and companies, carried out by young female researchers and professionals. The study, based on two questionnaires answered before and after the activity, focuses on the differences between groups of female and male students having differing degrees of interest in studying engineering. The educational level of mothers, the presence of engineers in families, and perceived family support emerged as important factors influencing the probability of a young person's considering pursuing engineering studies. Nevertheless, the need to expose children to outreach activities at a younger age and to involve the students' families and teachers has become clear. If planned properly and thoughtfully, even a single day's experience can contribute to changing the perception of what an engineer is. (Contains 5 tables and 13 figures.)

The International Council on Systems Engineering has long declared a wish to extend the scope of application of systems engineering from its traditional sphere of complex technical systems to more complex sociotechnical systems. The Segura River reclamation project was a successful systems engineering project, involving water treatment and management and environmental regeneration, which falls squarely into the latter category. Taking lessons from this project, the paper sets out to understand the circumstances in which systems engineering can be successful in guiding and managing interventions in nontraditional domains such as transportation, housing, infrastructure, health and environmental systems. This involves an analysis using critical systems thinking. The paper also seeks to suggest how systems engineering must change to ensure success in circumstances that are less propitious for its theory and practice than in the Segura case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationalizing university studies can be something of a challenge for courses related to engineering and architecture because their content is mainly focused on the standards of the country. In this regard, the content of the degree programmes in building engineering in Spain is based on the Spanish Building Technical Code. For this reason, this paper analyses experimentation conducted in a postgraduate course in building engineering of the University of Seville. The goal of the study was to internationalize the course content of that course appropriately. For this purpose, a combined approach was developed based on using ISO standards and including appropriately the modifications through a project management methodology to reduce risks. Experimentation was conducted for three academic years: 2018/2019–2020/2021. The results showed that ISO standards were appropriately implemented in the teaching course content and accepted by students. Likewise, the use of a project management methodology could be an opportunity to improve teaching course content, thus reducing the risk related to the modifications of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and analyzes the Spanish AGC system. The differences with respect to a standard hierarchical structure are explained. A simple model useful for simulation is proposed. Using this model, the performance of the system and the influence of several parameters in system response is evaluated. The paper also suggests some changes in the configuration and parameter settings of the system to improve its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing a low energy building requires to evaluate a large number of parameters: design combinations, element thermal characteristics, HVAC systems efficiencies, etc. All of them determine the space heating and space cooling energy demands, energy consumptions, and life cycle cost over the lifetime of the building. This paper presents the achievements of SEDICAE research project consisting on a new methodology based on a tabu search and a simplified method to calculate energy consumptions. The methodology is designed to estimate the annual energy demand, life-cycle cost and energy rating. A second process is included to select the HVAC system is developed for the building designed with this methodology. In general, builders should look for low energy, but investment in building design is a limiting factor. This paper show the relationship between energy efficiency index and investment in optimized residential building. Furthermore, the best energy rate is obtained applying the HVAC systems in the integrated optimization method for residential buildings. This methodology reduces investment, reduce the energy demand and selects the best construction materials, allowing to study the cost in different economic scenarios. In this paper, a building design case study is studied in 2028 scenarios in 12 climatic zone in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many papers have been published related to the retention and advancement of women in sciences. Engineering geology is one of the professional areas where women have not yet broken the gender barrier. The research issues of this paper are focused on why female students "leak out" at the end of engineering geology studies, and what can be done to encourage them to complete their degrees with an engineering career in mind. The author has studied students' preferences of the final year project required to complete their degree at the University of Salamanca (Salamanca, Spain). It has been found that most female students are choosing a more theoretical final project instead of a practical one relevant to professional employment, contrary to their male peers. Focus group meetings with the students showed that at the end of five years of engineering geology training, many female students, unsatisfied with the content of their courses, feel that their expectations had not been met. They often have preferences for traditional geology rather than applied branches of the subject. Also, they do not feel comfortable with future job prospects in the profession. From the findings of this research it is clear that tutoring and mentoring would be valuable from the beginning of studies to allow all students to become aware of the content and the potential outcomes of engineering geology studies. In the case of female students, it is particularly important for them to know from the very start that they are about to join what is still a man's world but that they are capable of achieving just as much as men can in the profession. Most importantly, the involvement of more female engineers in professional engineering, including teaching duties, should serve as example and role models in students' education and future careers.

This paper explores the reasons why the migrant engineering workers who traveled to Cuba to install, operate and maintain the steam technology that was being introduced in the island's sugar mills in the mid-nineteenth century, became convenient symbols in the response of the Spanish authorities and Creole elite to a number of fundamental problems facing Cuba as a Spanish colony. Though this migrant group has received little historiographical attention, the foreign engineers nevertheless not only contributed directly to the technological advancement of Cuba's sugar industry, they became symbols of the island's claim to modernity and at the same time its descent into economic dependency. While they may have desired nothing more than to enjoy the economic privileges that their labors provided them with, they found themselves cast as scapegoats in the racial and political struggles of the period — unwitting representatives of abolitionism and symbolizing foreign desires for domination. By showing how these engineering workers were not as marginal to events as is presumed by the existing literature, the paper reappraises the historical role that such overlooked social groups might have played in and beyond the heated environment of Cuba in the mid-nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: In this paper we discuss the results of a research project called eXtensible Project Documentation Reporting Language (XPDRL). The main objective of this project is to improve the quality of the core project documentation that serves for supporting the construction works in Spain and to facilitate an efficient exchange of information between the stakeholders in the Spanish Architectural Engineering and Construction sector, in particular their relationship with the Professional Associations and Spanish control public bodies. Starting from the premise that high quality project documentation is the basic precondition for a good quality in all the phases of the whole buildings and facilities life cycle, the project is based on Internet, XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) and the new Spanish standards about the quality in the project documentation (UNE 157000 series). As a result, a new set of XBRL taxonomies has been developed to support the processes of elaboration, verification, sending to the Professional Association, digital stamping, delivery, control, compulsory registration and storage of the construction project core documentation by the public authorities. Our proposal can be extended to other countries, particularly in Europe, since regulations are becoming similar in all EU countries. The potential for spin-off technology utilization is also significant in the areas of insurance, inspection chamber, digital reporting and project management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]