Methodological improvements in the final project of Civil Engineering Degree

Abstract

The final project of an engineering degree represents a test of maturity where students must crossexamine all the contents studied in the degree which adds technical difficulties. Traditionally the students are supervised by only one teacher and they usually also take a previous course in the writing of the project. Currently, the program of the Civil Engineering Degree contemplates this activity in the last semester with an allocation of 18 credits. The hardest difficulty noted by students and teachers is the short time estimated for writing it. A teaching innovation project is presented herein which aims to define a working protocol in order to help the student in a more efficient and close way during the development of the task. Among the methodological changes introduced, it should be highlighted the tutoring by professors from different areas of knowledge instead of only one professor as it was traditionally done. Thus, coordination mechanisms must be implemented to guarantee the achievement of the proposed objectives. The innovation project also helps to identify tasks that can be advanced in time and gain time for the effective drafting of the project. Some other solutions found will be presented as well as a comparison of the results obtained along this year with those of the former methodology.