Last Tuesday, June 18, the Innovation and Quality session took place at the Engineering School and Department. Below is a summary of what was discussed during the day.

12:00 – 12:25: Innovation Area

Patricia Santos, head of Innovation Area of the center, briefly presents the results of the PlaCLIK project on the Use of Technical Laboratories in Engineering (Espai Tallers), emphasizing the subjects that they make use of and the opportunities for new study plans. It also mentions the possible improvement actions in the reserve data collection system for analysis and invites the audience to think about practices to develop in these spaces to bring students closer to more experimental scenarios during their learning. Santos also shares the results presented at the International Congress on Teaching Innovation and Research in Higher Education (CIDICO 2024) about this study.

Patricia subsequently presents the material generated and published on Generative Artificial Intelligence and Programming Engineering at the 47th ICT convention, MIPRO 2024, based on a review of multiple applications of AI in Higher Education. Another element that arises on this topic is the integration of AI in undergraduate courses at other universities. Should we do it more? There are subjects that have already adopted AI in their curriculum, both as a tool and as an object of analysis and reflection, but this point could be raised institutionally (UPF) to establish practical guides, lessons learned, etc. This topic is proposed as one that can be debated in more detail in future teaching innovation sessions at the center, emphasizing good practices.

Finally, Santos talks about some of the most significant results of the work framed in the PlaCLIK on the TFG, specifically some conclusions that have been reached are presented, as well as the most relevant actions: generation of new templates for the work, results of the surveys applied to PDI, ALUMNI and current students, etc.

Summary of the interventions of this first part of the session:

• The Director of the Department proposes holding a competition/contest for the best TFG of each of the Degrees, a ceremony that could be attended by first-year students so that they can integrate the TFG as an important milestone in their studies as well as so that the subject and their defense gain solemnity.
• It is proposed to recover the MH. The grades with honors were stopped being given since they cannot have an economic effect on future courses (since it is done at the end). Dr. Hernández-Leo pointed out the effect that these have when it comes to highlighting work excellence and possible impact on access to master's degrees/labor market.
• The Director of the School asks the details of where the improvement proposals collected by the PDI are going, basically to understand if they concentrate on a specific element, and Santos comments that, basically, the comments revolve around to the recognition (5ECTS) that is received the following year and that in hours, does not represent the reality of the work that tutors do.

12:25 – 12:50: Quality Unit

The quality responsable (Alfonso Martínez) of the center presents the result of a study carried out by the UPC on class attendance.

Examples and concrete cases from the center regarding class attendance and the impact of the use of active methodologies are discussed among the audience. The importance of the students’ perception of subjective usefulness of class attendance is also discussed; That is, the student's perception of whether or not going to class provides added value.

Professor Josep Font presents an example of a teaching practice that he applies in his classes based on continuous competency evaluation in which he collects evaluable deliverables to promote class attendance.

12:50 – 13:30: Questions, comments, opinions

Patricia opens the open turn for words.

The exemplification of our own specific cases on the different topics covered during the session is highly appreciated. Other teachers are encouraged to share their experiences in sessions that could be monographic on teaching innovation, lessons learned and good practices. As a result of this, Patricia comments that quarterly sessions could be organized, emphasizing that volunteers will be required to share their experiences.

Professor Xavier Serra talks about his experience with assessment and about good practices in evaluation, pointing to his perception regarding the difficulties encountered when innovating due to the barriers put up by the students, who tend to become uncomfortable with changes in the assessment system. This topic will be considered for future monographic plenary sessions.

Finally, AVALDO appears as an element of great interest to the audience, various observations are made about the possibilities for its improvement, possible biases, impact it has on teachers, etc. This topic will also be taken up in future innovation sessions.

At this point the session ends, thanking the attendees for their participation.