Understanding the gut microbiota is crucial due to its profound impact on human health, influencing digestion, immune regulation, and disease prevention. Its interdisciplinary nature makes it a critical area of study in various fields, including biotechnology engineering, where teaching students about its complexity and real-world applications is essential. Despite its importance, gut microbiota remains underrepresented in educational curricula, limiting students' ability to grasp its complexity and practical implications. To address this gap, an interactive virtual reality tool called the Gut Microbiota Simulator (GMS) was developed, allowing students to explore the effects of lifestyle factors, such as diet, sleep, and stress, on gut health by simulating dynamic changes and providing an engaging, interactive learning environment. The simulator was evaluated in an undergraduate course through pre-tests, post-tests, and a perception survey to assess its effectiveness. Results showed a significant improvement in students' understanding of microbiota-related concepts, with post-test scores significantly higher than pre-test scores (p < 0.001). The perception survey revealed high satisfaction levels, with average ratings exceeding nine on a 10-point scale for dimensions such as usefulness, engagement, and learning relevance. In addition, an AI-based microbiota simulator powered by a custom GPT model was developed as a complementary resource to provide personalized feedback and flexible interaction scenarios. These tools demonstrate the potential of integrating virtual reality and artificial intelligence to address complex educational challenges, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students. This study highlights the importance of using innovative technologies to improve the teaching of interdisciplinary topics. Future work will explore adapting these tools to other disciplines and educational contexts, promoting accessible and impactful learning experiences.

Competency-based education has had very active development in recent years. Different educational models, based on projects, problems, and practices, have been used in Engineering faculties to develop the graduate competencies of new engineers. However, the didactic technique of Challenge Based Learning (CBL) has been the one that has recently had not only the greatest acceptance but also the greatest success in the labor market. For this model, the design of the challenges is fundamental, and the role of training partners, especially external ones, companies, non-governmental organizations, or government institutions that provide, together with teachers. These challenges have the purpose of developing different types of skills. In this report, we analyze the role of these training partners in developing, evaluating, and applying both, technical and soft skills in real environments of the current labor market. Students who participate in this CBL fully developed competencies. CBL is very demanding for universities, professors and students.

Ingenuity and curiosity are characteristics that define engineers. The need to understand the world and how things work is vital to be motivated to innovate, create, and transform the world that surrounds us. Universities have the responsibility and commitment to prepare engineering professionals to be able to face the challenges of our rapidly changing world by preparing them with a set of competencies (knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and values). These competencies include both disciplinary and transversal competencies, such as critical thinking, the ability to solve complex problems, communication, the ability to learn by themselves, and creating innovative solutions with consideration of global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. This study presents the engagement of undergraduate engineering students in research work through active learning during their capstone project at their last semester of their undergraduate program. Students from Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, and Sustainable Development Engineering programs worked on research projects linked with external partners. The study presents how these projects were generated and planned, the projects characteristics, the projects results, and the impact this research experience had on the students. The research projects delivered the desired outcomes and provided students with a valuable learning experience, showing them their potential, and motivating them to pursue postgraduate studies and innovation and development professional roles.

Challenge-based learning (CBL) is a teaching technique that has recently been used for the development of disciplinary and transversal skills. It has the advantage of being a realistic experience that can be socially relevant and develops in students competencies currently required by employers. Searching in the SCOPUS database on the CBL experiences reported, at least until October 2023, 22% are in Engineering Education, especially in the last 4 years. In this communication, 112 CBL experiences in the School of Engineering and Sciences at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, in Mexico, were examined with reference to the design of challenges. Regardless of the origin of the challenge (university professors, training partner, mix of external experts with professors), or of the applicators, (teachers or experts of the training partner), the challenges pedagogically met the objectives of developing competencies, but none passed an evaluation on ethical, legal or certifying feasibility that the process or results could generate some social or academic inconvenience. Here we propose a reflection on the central structure of the CBL, the challenge, the relevance of its application, and the design of the challenge itself. CBL is a powerful pedagogical approach for the development of skills for the future, but care must be taken in planning so as not to commit ethical or legal infringements that compromise the development of the educational experience.

Studying engineering requires passion and commitment, among other qualities, which motivate students to exercise their knowledge in practical activities and desire more learning. Engineering theory prepares students to face the challenges of industrial life. In this article, we explore the results of engineering students’ participation in a project exhibition, assessed by evaluators from industry and our university, i.e., professors and industrial partners. The internal and external evaluators assessed a competition and chose a winner. Evaluations and competitions are motivating elements for students. Creating an event with these characteristics allows students to become aware of local or global external realities, and they can contribute to the world with projects that try to satisfy the promulgations of at least one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). The University offers 23 different engineering programs, a large variety that provides many opportunities to contribute to the outside world. The event consists of four different categories for project registration depending on its offered solution. The four categories are Physical Prototype, Software Prototype, Research and Development of Continuous Improvement Proposals, and Products or Services for Technological-based Entrepreneurship. This article analyzes 1) student awareness of sustainable development, 2) the learning experience, and 3) students’ motivation to participate in the exhibition. [1]

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) connects students and professors from different countries, universities, cultures, and educational models to engage in projects and coursework, working together for a common goal. By implementing this collaboration in courses that are part of the engineering program study plan, both students and faculty develop different disciplinary and transversal competencies while learning the knowledge and skills required for their specific engineering programs. In the context of engineering education, program accreditations are quite relevant to ensure the standards and quality to develop graduates that are well prepared to enter the global workforce and contribute to build a better world. This study analyzes the student outcomes of different engineering accreditation organizations to identify common student outcomes and explore the impact of COIL experiences to contribute to the development of these student outcomes. Some COIL experiences in literature report that students build communication skills, work in multicultural environments creating consciousness about different social, economic and political contexts, develop critical thinking and problem-solving competencies while proposing solutions to complex problems, among others. This study aims to investigate how COIL courses align to the development of engineering student outcomes and document COIL as a tool for this purpose, emphasizing best practices and recommendations for universities that intend to engage in this pedagogical approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed great challenges for Engineering Education. For Latin America higher education institutions, the greatest changes were total virtuality, distance education, collaborations between educational entities, labs, and connectivity problems. The return to in-person attendance has brought new challenges to engineering schools, such as the low motivation of teachers and students in this new transition, as well as the possible lags of students in the acquisition of practical skills that online laboratories and digital courses could not develop. Additionally, other related organizations, such as professional or educational societies faced challenges such as retention of members, running virtual conferences, and maintaining fiscal viability. The main objective of this work is to make known the challenges in Engineering Education in the post-pandemic era in Latin America, the initiatives the nonprofit Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) has developed to address these challenges and promote best practices so that Engineering Education institutions in Latin America can face them, and the need to scale these initiatives through collaboration among academic, gobernmental, industry and organizations.

Reducing the gender gap in universities has been an undertaken task for several years, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of gender equity. Within the culture that can favor and facilitate this change, is to have spaces where leadership in equity is present, which allows the growth of more women in positions of authority in our institutions. The case study shares the strategies of a program to create this culture in a private university in Mexico, starting with one area as a pilot program. The research methodology is qualitative in nature with three phases: design of the instrument related to elements to generate a space for leadership in equity, implementation of the design to the members of the area, analysis and conclusions with the principal strategies. The results allow the directive team to define short and long-term action plans to achieve a culture of leadership in equity, and therefore, the increase of women in leadership positions with the opportunities that arise.

The new reality demands that engineering graduates develop digital skills. Furthermore, globalization requires university students to develop global perspectives and cultural awareness to become responsible and sustainable global citizens. One of the most popular strategies in recent years, mainly due to the confinement by COVID-19, was the strategy of Collaborative Online International Learning (Collaborative Online International Learning, COIL). COIL is a voluntary association between teachers from different countries collaborating in co-constructed learning experiences to enhance international and intercultural understanding. The analysis of 10 COIL experiences between Tecnologico de Monterrey and other universities worldwide was conducted based on evaluating and developing student competencies. The students' satisfaction level has been high. Results suggest that COIL helps them to develop skills to navigate the challenges of the 21stcentury, giving them new perspectives and ways of thinking about how they relate to the world. Detected opportunity areas were specific preparation of teachers, evaluation systems, instructional design, and the assignment of digital badges to participating teachers. COIL is a powerful tool for developing the engineering skills that employers demand.

The Covid-19 pandemic demanded educators to explore new methods to provide their students with practical activities, despite the lockdown measures around the world. The use of Extended Reality (XR) technology, which includes Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), offers special tools to transform the learning experience in engineering education with immersive environments. This study presents a comparison of the process followed to design XR resources for engineering education applications at three different universities in Latin America. The motivation of this work is to share the design experience, as well as the lessons learned and recommendations for educators that are looking into adopting XR technology in their courses. Even though the group of professors worked together along the project, the design of the immersive experience and the XR resource was different for each university according to its specific context and needs. The design process comprises the resource conceptual definition, the technological development, and the final product with academic use. The three design processes were compared to identify lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations for future XR resources in engineering education. XR technologies have a great potential in engineering education closing the gap between the classroom and the real-life practice using the principles of educational innovation.

This Research to Practice Work in Progress Paper focuses on the Education 4.0 Framework, based on built-in skill development mechanisms and innovative learning pedagogies related to Active Learning approaches. Practicing engineers are increasingly expected to act as boundary spanners who manage and participate in diverse interdisciplinary global teams, leverage cultural differences, and draw on expert knowledge from multiple fields and specialities to translate competing stakeholders' needs into practical design solutions. This demand for a holistic type of engineer stems from the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: engineers who assume the role of leaders can integrate knowledge and work seamlessly across intellectual, social, and cultural challenges. Our exploratory study aims to identify the implications for practice, challenges, and opportunities in Higher Education. More specifically, we look at two engineering programs of two universities, one located in Mexico and the other in the United States of America. Both universities have implemented massive Experiential and Challenge-Based Learning efforts with industry and external organizations as educational partners to immerse students in real-life contexts. The methodology used was qualitative-experimental, involved more than 120 students, and included a post-test for skills assessment with different instruments such as rubrics, questionnaires, interviews, and surveys. The preliminary findings of this work-in-progress study reveal that the role of Higher Education professors in the training of future engineering professionals within the Education 4.0 Framework has different degrees of complexity related to the cross-border nature of educational innovation, that requires the commitment and alignment of multiple actors: students, professors, organizations, and industry.

The purpose of this study is to explore how a high-impact outreach project with renowned international organizations contributes to the development of students' self-confidence and leadership in STEM areas. The conclusion of this research, using quantitative measures, yielded outstanding results in two skills expected to develop working on projects related to STEM. In addition, other solid results showed that students who develop this type of projects increase the perspective of their professional approach and they inspire students to continue participating in projects that challenge them both personally and professionally.

In August 2019, the national initiative Women in Engineering and Sciences (MIC) was launched with the objective of raising awareness and monitoring gender equity, equal opportunities and women empowerment. This project, led by a group of professors, hopes to accompany, support and join efforts, for a stronger impact within our academic community. This study presents the work of the linking committee towards the empowerment of women engineers through linked experiences. The methodology of this work includes: 1) integrating a multi-campus team to work in the engagement and linking committee, 2) identifying internal efforts towards the empowerment of women, as well as external efforts in companies, organizations and other universities through research and interviews, and mapping the networking ecosystem 3) analyze the information to identify key partners for collaborative projects, and 4) create a community by implementing Lean In circles (leanin.org) and replicate the project at other campuses. The work done and the reflections hope to be a roadmap and source of inspiration to other engineering institutions working towards a culture of gender equality and women empowerment.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced Higher Education classes to shift to online education. This sudden change required universities to respond rapidly, adapting their classes to remote courses maintaining quality educational delivery. In this context, our university implemented the Digital Flexible Model (DFM) to continue with its academic offer. The challenge involved moving 55,000 classes per week to the DFM, attending 90,000 students with 9,400 professors, all in one week. At the end of the semester, a strategic survey was applied to a statistical sample of professors and students from the Engineering School to get feedback about their experience with the DFM. The results highlight takeaways to improve the instructional model and offer interesting reflections by gender from the experience of faculty and students.

Several studies suggest that women are inspired by female role models. Observing women with successful development in their profession inspires other women to pursue professional growth as well, even in STEM areas, where there is less female participation. This research presents a successful case of a program with two differentiating characteristics: the use of social networks to present a group of female leaders like a role model in STEM, and an international strategic link. The objective of the program was to strengthen women leadership in the STEM educational environment, as well as to identify the determining factors for this strengthening. In the webinar program developed over a 6-month period, more than 700 people were impacted, with more than 22,000 views. Through feedback surveys and data regarding audience obtained from the webinars transmitted by social networks, the impact and needs of teachers were shown. The results indicate that the majority of the audience teaches classes in elementary and middle levels, however, it is observed that teachers from all educational levels participated. The presence of female role models teaching in STEM programs and their extensive experience in current social happenings are two elements that favor interest and participation in these events.

Gender equity and inclusion have been relevant topics in the agenda of the companies, organizations and universities. As a university and particularly with engineering, science and technology programs, it is relevant to implement actions that encourage this culture of gender equity in a STEM environment. The main initiatives are related to mentoring programs, which seek to develop and empower women through women themselves. The research aims to identify the factors that influence the impact generated by the mentoring process in the different stakeholders: teachers, researchers and high school students. The mentoring model is composed of three key elements: (a) massive session with life testimonies of engineering and science students, (b) massive session with the testimonies of mentors and mentees, and (c) the mentoring sessions in small groups or one-to-one. The methodology is of a mixed nature and is composed of 4 stages: (1)design of the mentoring program based on the research of literature review and interviews with companies that has experience in mentoring programs, (2) implementation of the mentoring program with high school students and women STEM professors mentors, (3) evaluation of the impact of the program with interviews with mentors, observation, focus groups with mentors and mentees, and surveys, (4) definition of the impact factors and improvement areas of the program. The findings in the different stages allowed to integrate the factors that impact the mentoring process and its involved stakeholders. Some of the factors that influence the impact of the mentoring program are: the role of the mentor and its characteristics, the mentee profile, its commitments and interests, the impact of the life testimony both professional and personal, the type of needs that arise for the mentees and for the mentors, the time of attention, and the interaction.

In this rapidly changing world, universities must innovate in the way they teach and prepare students to face life's challenges. To be successful, people must be agile learners with high resilience and frustration tolerance to recover quickly from adversity. With this in mind, a new educational model based on the development of skills through active and collaborative learning was defined at Tecnologico de Monterrey. This study shows the results of a Rube Goldberg Machine Massive Challenge for first-year engineering students of different programs. The students worked in teams to design a Rube Goldberg machine that could be installed and run in a limited time, meeting specific requirements. Several teams competed simultaneously to achieve the goal while the audience watched and encouraged them. The results suggest that this challenge was an innovative event that helped students improve their tolerance for frustration and resilience. Students enjoyed the challenge and recommended it for future freshmen as a fun learning experience.

Applied Academics is both a trend within pioneering educational institutions as well as a demand from the current generations of students at all levels. The first semesters of an engineering curricula focus on developing a solid theoretical basis in Mathematics, Physics and Programming before becoming immersed in practical projects. Therefore, first-year engineering students usually struggle to visualize the practical applications of their studies. Advancing towards an educational model based on competencies, the following workshop was an effort to increase engineering students' engagement and to launch their development at a first stage. This interactive workshop was designed and implemented in an introductory engineering course where students were able to understand how a Star Wars BB8 commercial prototype droid is built and how it works. This droid worked as a great example of a well-known robot that integrates the different disciplines of the engineering programs involved in the workshop: Mechanical, Industrial, Automotive, Electrical, and Mechatronics. More than 600 freshmen took this workshop, which resulted in satisfactory outcomes. Results suggest that this kind of activity will prevent the abandonment of engineering studies. Students were really engaged in the workshop and showed curiosity and interest in understanding what was inside the famous robot and how it worked, given its innovative design. The students enjoyed the experience and realized the main differences between the engineering disciplines involved according to their application in this practical example. This workshop also helped them to reaffirm their decision on an Engineering Major and to motivate them to become skilled to be able to create this kind of technology.