Achieving Competence-Based Curriculum in Engineering

An education program, now in development, aims to ease cross-border transfers for students seeking further study, and to expand the labor market for graduates, teachers and administrative staff. By Mónica Edwards, Luis Manuel Sánchez-Ruiz, and Carlos Sánchez-Dı́az ABSTRACT | The fact of placing competences and outcomes learning at the heart of the academic activity means over-hauling the curricular architecture of higher education in Europe. Some universities have undergone important trans-formations moving toward a competence-based learning environment, while others maintain traditional curriculum packaged formats. In the realm of the European Higher Edu-cation Area, this paper examines the use of competence-based initiatives in curricular development for engineering degrees with special focus to the Spanish case. Although the concept of competence and competence-based learning has a long history in education and training research, these terms are still very diffuse and demand a clear conceptualization. In the first part of this paper, we provide a conceptual overview and a critical reflection of competences as implemented in a wide range of settings, including its origins, key concepts, and definitions. Next, we discuss the purposes, principles, pitfalls, and pro-cesses that enable defining a map of competences within en-gineering education. Lastly, we present a pilot project involving curriculum development and faculty enhancement within a competence-based learning initiative in Electronic Engineering