This study preliminary evaluates the effectiveness of INSPIRA (Inspiration, Nourishment, Significance, Practice, Integration, Real Challenges, and Advice), an andragogic model developed by the Vice-Rectory of Continuing Education (VCE) at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico to enhance facilitator competencies within the evolving framework of Industry 5.0. Implemented in 2016, INSPIRA aims to improve the skills of continuous education (CE) facilitators; however, its impact has not been assessed from their perspective until now. In the first stage, we explain how a training of trainers (ToT) program can impact Industry 5.0. Afterward, we describe previous ToT programs and their characteristics. Next, we describe the INSPIRA program and present preliminary results of its assessment. This research involved 158 facilitators in a survey and 16 in focus groups. Findings reveal that while INSPIRA effectively enhances knowledge application and teaching, it faces challenges in addressing “Real Challenges” and “Advice,” potentially due to diverse organizational contexts. The study also notes that while INSPIRA contributes to facilitator competency, it could better address aspects of work satisfaction. Feedback indicated a need for more tailored workshops and coordinator support. Facilitators value the structure and clarity INSPIRA brings to teaching, suggesting further customization for different program formats (online vs. in-person) and evidence of INSPIRA's organizational impact. Quantitative analysis showed that 60 % of facilitators believe INSPIRA positively affects teaching dynamism and content clarity. This study emphasizes the importance of aligning educational strategies with Industry 5.0's human-centric and resilient training needs, recommending INSPIRA enhancements to meet facilitators' and organizations' evolving requirements in continuous education.

This study addresses the remediation of mathematical knowledge in engineering education, a critical issue as many students lack foundational skills upon entering essential courses. We conducted a quasi-experimental study that compared traditional instruction methods with a self-study strategy across three phases: diagnosing initial knowledge, providing tailored self-study resources to an experimental group, and assessing the effectiveness of the intervention. During the first period of the Fall 2024 semester, an initial diagnostic test on key mathematical topics was administered via CANVAS in a first-year Engineering and Sciences course. The experimental group received CANVAS instructional videos, supplementary documents, and access to the AI tool Jungle for optional self-study. In contrast, the control group had access to voluntary tutoring sessions. Post-intervention, both groups completed a final exam to measure improvements in problemsolving abilities. Additionally, a follow-up survey gathered feedback on self-study materials and Jungle. The analysis shows a positive correlation between Jungle usage and academic improvement. Jungle users initially scored slightly lower, saw greater improvements, and achieved higher post-test and final scores. The experimental group of Jungle users showed a statistically significant score improvement over the control group ($p=0.05$). Qualitative feedback highlights Jungle's effectiveness, feedback, and ease of use, though students suggested enhancing question variety. Results demonstrate the potential of structured self-study interventions to improve mathematical understanding among engineering students. The theoretical implications of this work are that by emphasizing tailored resources, this study aims to contribute effective strategies for bridging knowledge gaps in STEM education, enhancing student retention, and supporting academic success in engineering programs.

Chemical product design is a young subject incorporated into some Engineering disciplines' curricula, mainly Chemical Engineering. Its objective is to identify customer requirements, generate potential solutions to meet those needs, assess the proposed ideas, and manufacture the products. This implies that the exploration process extends beyond the laboratory, focusing on large-scale manufacturing. Moving from the conventional emphasis on unit operations and transport phenomena to product design requires a corresponding change in teaching approaches. In an academic environment, the realm of chemical product design is accompanied by challenges, notably the need to develop innovative educational strategies. In Mexico, a research-oriented methodology was introduced to teach the undergraduate course” Chemical and Biotechnological Product Design I” at Tecnologico de Monterrey, based on the design approach known as nature-inspired chemical engineering. It was also a strategy for introducing undergraduate students to research. Students were engaged in a challenge where they had to generate a technically feasible proposal for developing a new chemical product, inspired by nature, considering procedures that incorporate industrial regulations, intellectual property, and sustainability. A survey was employed to measure students' expectations at the beginning of the course. After six weeks of research, a concluding survey was conducted to gather students' perceptions of the teaching method's effectiveness and achievements. Academic performance was assessed through a dual evaluation method, comprising a test and the submission of an in-depth research report.

This research WIP paper provides an innovative, clear, and practical methodology for instructors who wish to assess their teaching practice's impact on their students' competencies. It was carried out in a Mexican Higher Education Institution. It compares students' perceptions from two undergraduate engineering programs participating in a six-week Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) concentration. Studies on CBL in engineering programs analyze its effectiveness compared to traditional and other innovative methodologies and its impact on disciplinary, soft, and cross-disciplinary competencies, mainly in undergraduate programs. To answer the following questions, this study examines the effect of CBL educational experience on the Technical, Methodological, Participatory, and Personal competencies perceived by participant students: Q1) What is the impact of CBL on the perceived acquisition of cross-cutting competencies in students in two engineering programs? Q2) How do students in two interrelated engineering programs perceive the dimensions of crosscutting competencies, and how might these interrelationships influence academic performance? A descriptive, comparative, and correlational approach was used to examine two groups of students from two engineering programs in Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering who learned using a CBL approach. The data corresponded to the responses of 31 students to the Competencies Acquired through CBL (CA-CBLQ) questionnaire, adapted in the wording of the items for the present study. The results showed the positive effect of the CBL approach on the development of methodological competencies. It was also identified that an increase in methodological competencies reinforces the development of technical, personal, and moderately participative competencies. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that contextualized and authentic learning experiences enable students to develop competencies that allow them to apply their theoretical knowledge to practical situations in their personal and professional lives. Given that CBL is supported by other favorable methodologies, such as collaborative learning and situated cognition, future studies can explore contrasts between groups in quasi-experimental conditions by comparing CBL with other associated variables.

This innovative practice WIP paper discusses the importance of deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Latin American Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It presents the preliminary findings of a workshop in Mexico that brought together nineteen Latin American universities' academic and IT leaders to define strategies for AI deployment. AI can shape higher education (HE) by advancing skills and technologies, generating and sharing knowledge, and supporting people adjusting to technological changes. However, AI integration in HEIs is limited, and there are significant global gaps, particularly in resource-constrained contexts and countries without guaranteed infrastructure. Thus, the intended outcomes of this work are the dynamic involvement of participants, who were encouraged to introduce novel topics that contribute to the overall AI discourse to yield a comprehensive and adaptable global strategy for AI implementation and deployment in HEIs through collective wisdom. Under this rationale, we designed and conducted a workshop sequence. A survey was conducted before the workshop to obtain leaders' opinions about AI deployment in HE. Later, participants were distributed in teams, and a unique restriction was considered for their proposals to generate a deployment strategy. As findings, academic institutions have been slow to adopt AI, but the new generation patterns have forced them to embrace it. They are considering automating their operations to improve student services and attract more students. However, the primary challenge is the lack of strategy. Conclusive remarks emphasized the collaborative efforts among universities to fortify and enhance the implementation and deployment of AI solutions within HE. In the future, we aim to establish a foundation for future collaborations on innovation projects related to AI in education among the workshop attendants.