Starting from a real problem, encouraging teamwork, promoting critical and creative thinking, and applying knowledge to practice. This is the recipe for Challenge-Based Learning (CBL), a methodology that is leaving its mark on education, training professionals in high demand by companies around the world. Its objective is not limited to the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, but rather seeks to have students apply their training to the resolution of current, real challenges that have an impact. “It is about bringing the professional world into the classroom,” said Victoria Bamond, rector and academic director of Schiller International University, during a meeting held this week in Madrid and organized together with EL PAÍS. Since its inception 60 years ago, this university has always been characterized by offering its students an experiential methodology. It has done so by immersing its students in an increasingly interconnected world. “How can an institution be truly global? The answer lies in immersion in other cultures and international contexts,” added Bamond. Hence, people who study at one of its four campuses—Madrid, Paris, Heidelberg (Germany) and Tampa (United States)—can move freely between them. Today, Challenge-Based Learning is presented as a tool that seeks to provide experiences. “How can students prepare more effectively for their future professional roles? The answer is simple: by working,” stressed the rector. This new educational model—applied by the institution in its undergraduate and graduate courses—dynamites the learning pattern that still persists in many universities and is based on the accumulation of knowledge that is then not applied in the world of work. “Ideally, students should start making decisions and collaborating in a diverse environment that is as close to what they find in the company as possible, because this will allow them to develop their skills and their maximum potential, being better prepared for their entry into the labor market,” stressed Estela Quesada Zuheros, director of Corporate Social Responsibility for IBM Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel. IBM has also adopted an experiential methodology in some of its corporate social responsibility programs, focusing on training and education in technology. With a commitment to train 30 million people by 2030, the technology firm also collaborates with Schiller University, using various tools and resources to achieve this goal. “We rely on our free-access training platform that hosts a wide range of content in areas such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, topics that are gaining more and more relevance and that we want to make accessible to citizens, especially to people who are looking for a job,” he said. In a constantly evolving environment, where changes are increasingly rapid and unpredictable, it is essential to have multidisciplinary professionals capable of working in an agile and effective way to solve specific challenges. “One of the needs we have seen at Airbus is to have people who are immersed in the real world and not just hard skills [conocimientos técnicos]these skills and knowledge based on the hard subjects they received at university, but they have to be able to solve a problem that has arisen now, approach it from different points of view and create a team with people from diverse backgrounds,” said Alejandro Buenache Vega, head of Technical Data Systems Spain at Airbus. At Schiller International University they are aware of this and in their groups, especially in postgraduate studies, there is a significant generational mix. “This does not happen much in other universities,” added the rector of the institution. “It is precisely this diversity that enriches the projects the most.” For a specific challenge, for example, there is not only a combination of different disciplines, but also of different ages and different nationalities, because the challenges that are usually solved are done with students from the various four educational centers that Schiller has. Normally, this process is guided by a professor, an indispensable figure in the university environment. However, the approach is enriched by the participation of a mentor, who provides additional support and specialized guidance.
Platform
In this case, Schiller relies on Elevatorfy, an entrepreneurship training platform. “Some time ago we identified an opportunity: although students leave very well trained theoretically, companies noticed a lack of practical skills and specific skills,” said Luis Fernández López. founder and CEO of Elevatorfy. “We focus on facing real challenges with companies, not hypothetical ones. They initiate collaborations by defining authentic problems, such as budget constraints. Through an idea generation process, students present some solutions. And finally, they develop prototypes for companies. This approach has generated implementable and beneficial options, closing the gap between theory and business practice,” he explains. Álvaro Ruiz, Head of Customer Services at Metro de Madrid, shared a personal challenge with the Schiller students. “The idea was for them to contribute ideas to improve the customer's travel experience,” Ruiz said at the meeting. After various meetings over several months, the university students presented some solutions to the company. “We talk to them about how many people the Metro takes, what the user profile is and all the information regarding the trips that are made daily.” One of the students' main conclusions was that people do not like to wait long on the platform or at ticket machines. Therefore, the students proposed improving the company's app by providing the most precise information about train schedules. In addition, they suggested that the app should have greater integration with other mobility applications to offer additional information to the traveler. Follow all the Economy and Business information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter