Assessing the impact of Teaching Innovation Projects on university quality indicators and employer expectations: a case study in the Spanish university
Submitted: 2025-12-17
|Accepted: 2026-02-27
|Published: 2026-03-26
Copyright (c) 2026 Eva Díaz, Salvador Ordóñez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Downloads
Keywords:
teaching innovation projects, gamification, quality indicators, engagement, teaching methodologies
Supporting agencies:
Abstract:
This work analyses the influence of teaching innovation projects in the field of Chemical Engineering at the University of Oviedo (Spain) on both institutional quality indicators and employers’ expectances. The projects were classified into three groups: related to the Chemical Engineering programs, those with scientific or technological relevance, and those focused on learning methodologies. Many projects focus on active methodologies and PBL, and assessment, and although a positive relationship was observed with teaching satisfaction and some quality indicators, we noted that several important aspects were not adequately reflected there. Likewise, little alignment was observed between the skills demanded by employers and those developed in the teaching innovation projects. A bibliometric analysis suggests that the proliferation of highly segmented teaching innovation projects in Spanish universities could be due to faculty promotion criteria. Efforts should focus on coordinated program-level actions, rigorous content, thoughtful AI integration, and effort-based learning.
References:
ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology 2025 – 2026). (2024). Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2025-2026/ (accessed 20 October 2025).
Alford, J., Edgar, T. F. (2017). Preparing Chemical Engineering Students for Industry, AIChE. https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2017/november/preparing-chemical-engineering-students-industry (accessed 23 October 2025).
Alkaya, D.,da Cruz, R. V. A., Grossmann, I. E., Provine, W. D., Silverstein, D. L., Steininger, R. J., Talbot, J. B., Varma, A., McCreight, T., Chin, K., Schuster, D. (2015). Chemical Engineering Academia-Industry Alignment: Expectations about New Graduates, AIChE. https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/docs/conferences/2015che_academicindustryalignmentstudy.pdf (accessed 20 October 2025).
Almeida, C., Kalinowski, M., Uchôa, A., Feijó, B. (2023). Negative effects of gamification in education software: Systematic mapping and practitioner perceptions, Information and Software Technology, 156, 107142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2022.107142.
Berezvai, Z., Lukats, G. D., Molontay, R. (2020). Can professors buy better evaluation with lenient grading? The effect of grade inflation on student evaluation of teaching, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46, 793–808. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1821866.
Bolton, L. W., Glassey, J., Ventura-Medina, E. (2023). Updating chemical engineering degree accreditation in changing times, Education for Chemical Engineers, 43, 31-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2023.01.005.
Canal, J. F., Cueto, B. (2024a). Análisis de la inserción laboral de la población titulada en la universidad de Oviedo en Grado, COEAST24a09, Annual Work Program 2024, https://actualidad.asturias.es/-/un-estudio-del-sepepa-refleja-que-el-80%25-de-las-personas-graduadas-en-la-universidad-de-oviedo-est%C3%A1-trabajando-a-los-cuatro-a%C3%B1os-de-titularse?redirect=%2F (accessed 23 October 2025).
Canal, J. F., Cueto, B. (2024b). Estudio de competencias demandadas por empresas asturianas, COEAST24a08, Annual Work Program 2024, https://actualidad.asturias.es/-/un-estudio-del-sepepa-refleja-que-el-80%25-de-las-personas-graduadas-en-la-universidad-de-oviedo-est%C3%A1-trabajando-a-los-cuatro-a%C3%B1os-de-titularse?redirect=%2F (accessed 23 May 2025).
Chan, C. K. Y., Luk, L. Y. Y. (2022). Academics’ beliefs towards holistic competency development and assessment: A case study in engineering education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 72, 101102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101102.
Chiu, W. K. (2021). Pedagogy of Emerging Technologies in Chemical Education during the Era of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence: A Systematic Review, Education Sciences, 11(11), 709. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110709.
CYD (Fundación, Conocimiento y Desarrollo), (2023). CYD Report 2023. https://www.fundacioncyd.org/publicaciones-cyd/informe-cyd-2023/ (accessed 17 July 2025).
Díaz, I., González, E. J., González-Miquel, M., Rodríguez, M. (2024). Application of serious games in chemical engineering courses, Education for Chemical Engineers, 46, 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2023.10.002.
Dichev, C., Dicheva, D. (2017). Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0042-5.
Feijoo, G., Crujeiras, R. M., Moreira, M. T. (2018). Gamestorming for the Conceptual Design of Products and Processes in the context of engineering education, Education for Chemical Engineers, 22, 44-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2017.11.001.
Feijoo, G., Ibáñez, R., Herguido, J., Partal, P., Tobajas, M., Sempere, J., López-Pérez, M. F., Rivero, M. J. (2019). Reprint of: Education of chemical engineering in Spain: A global picture,Education for Chemical Engineers,26, 2–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2019.01.003.
Feixas, M., Zellweger, F. (2010). Faculty Development in Context: Changing Learning Cultures in Higher Education. In: Ehlers, UD., Schneckenberg, D. (eds) Changing Cultures in Higher Education. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03582-1_8.
Guerra-Macías, Y., Tobón, S. (2025). Development of transversal skills in higher education programs in conjunction with online learning: relationship between learning strategies, project-based pedagogical practices, e-learning platforms, and academic performance, Heliyon, 11(2) e41099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41099.
IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers), (2025a). What is chemical engineering?. https://www.icheme.org/about-us/what-is-chemical-engineering/ (accessed 20 October 2025).
IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers), (2025b). https://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/course-search/recognised-course-search/?page=1&q=oviedo&s=current&courseId=8537 (accessed 23 July 2025).
IChemE, (2021). Accreditation of chemical engineering programmes: a guide for education providers and assessors. Inst. Chem. Eng. https://www.Icheme.org/media/17198/accreditation-guidance-october-2021.pdf. (accessed 12 June 2025).
INIE (Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Educativa), (2025). Call for grants for the development of innovative teaching projects. University of Oviedo. https://inie.uniovi.es/innovacion/convocatorias/proyectos (accessed 20 June 2025).
Karaman, P. (2024). Effects of using rubrics in self-assessment with instructor feedback on pre-service teachers’ academic performance, self-regulated learning and perceptions of self-assessment. The European Journal of Psychology of Education, 39, 2551–2574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00867-w.
Keith, M., Keiller, E., Windows-Yule, C., Kings, I., Robbins, P. (2025). Implementation and evaluation of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in chemical engineering education,Education for Chemical Engineers,51, 20-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2025.01.002.
Lester, D., Skulmoski, G. J., Fisher, D. P., Mehrotra, V., Lim, I., Lang, A., Keogh, J. W. L. (2023). Drivers and barriers to the utilisation of gamification and game-based learning in universities: A systematic review of educators’ perspectives. British Journal of Educational Technology, 54, 1748–1770. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13311.
Li, W., Liu, L. (2023). An examination of influential factors on gamification in higher education: A content analysis. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 19(1), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.37120/ijttl.2023.19.1.01.
Llopis-Albert, C., Rubio, F. (2021). Methodology to evaluate transversal competences in the master’s degree in industrial engineering based on a system of rubrics and indicators, Multidisciplinary Journal for Education Social and Technological Sciences, 8(1), 30-44. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2021.15244.
Llopis-Albert, C., Rubio, F., Zeng, S., Devece, C., Torner-Feltrer, M. E. (2023). Quality assessment program of the teaching activity of the higher education faculty staff. A case study. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences, 10(1), 94-113. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2023.19338.
Mayer, R. E. (2007). Learning and Instruction. Pearson, Thousand Oaks, pp. 26–107.
Moliner, M. L., Guraya, T., Lopez-Crespo, P., Royo, M., Gamez-Perez, J., Segarra, M., Cabedo, L. (2015). Acquisition of transversal skills through PBL: a study of the perceptions of the students and teachers in materials science courses in engineering. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences, 2(2), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2015.3896.
Pozzo, M. I., Al-Zoubi, A. (2025). University 4.0: Professors’ Perceptions on the Future of Higher Education. Evolutionary Progress or Revolutionary Change? Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences, 12(1), 125-155. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2025.23314.
Ragusa, G., Lee, C. T. (2012). The impact of focused degree projects in chemical engineering education on students’ research performance, retention, and efficacy, Education for Chemical Engineers, 7, e69-e77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2012.03.001.
Rebello, C. M., Deiró, G. F., Knuutila, H. K., Moreira, L. C. S., Nogueira, I. B. R. (2024). Augmented reality for chemical engineering education, Education for Chemical Engineers, 47, 30-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2024.04.001.
Rodríguez-Gómez, L. E., Ruigómez, I., Marrero, M. del C., Vera, L. (2025). Students’ interest in Chemical Engineering in Spain: analysis of undergraduate enrolment indicators (2011–2024). European Journal of Engineering Education, 50(5), 925–947. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2025.2462095.
Ruiz Rodríguez, A., Chiappe, A., Ortega González, E. (2025). The Digital Educator’s Toolkit: Leveraging AI for Effective Learning Analytics. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences, 12(2), e23163. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2025.23163.
Sáiz Manzanares, M. C., Sánchez Báez, M. A., Ortega-López, V., Manso Villalaín, J. M. (2015). Self-Regulation and Rubrics Assessment in Structural Engineering Subjects, Education Research International, 340521. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/34052.
dos Santos, M. T., Vianna Jr., A. S., Le Roux, G. A. C. (2018). Programming skills in the industry 4.0: are chemical engineering students able to face new problems? Education for Chemical Engineers, 22, 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2018.01.002.
Sloan, J. A., Scharff, L. F. (2022). Student Self-Assessment: Relationships between Accuracy, Engagement, Perceived Value, and Performance. Journal of Civil Engineering Education, 148, 3. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.2643-9115.0000063.
Suárez-López, M. J., Blanco-Morigorta, A. M., Gutiérrez-Trashorras, A. J. (2023). Gamification in thermal engineering: Does it encourage motivation and learning?, Education for Chemical Engineers, 45, 41-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2023.07.006.
UTC (Unidad Técnica de Calidad), (2025a). Global Reports of the General Survey of Teaching, University of Oviedo. https://calidad.uniovi.es/informesuo (accessed 13 July 2025).
UTC (Unidad Técnica de Calidad), (2025b). Indicators for Degrees Monitoring Reports, University of Oviedo. https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNWRkMGYxMDEtZjlhMS00ZjY1LWE4ZDEtY2ZhNDRhM2FjNDEyIiwidCI6IjA1ZWE3NGEzLTkyYzUt
NGMzMS05NzhhLTkyNWMzYzc5OWNkMCIsImMiOjh9&pageName=ReportSection (accessed 17 July 2025).
Vanacore, A., Pellegrino, N. S. (2019). How Reliable are Students’ Evaluations of Teaching (SETs)? A Study to Test Student’s Reproducibility and Repeatability.
Social Indicators Research, 146, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-02055-y.
Velarde-Molina, J. F., Said-Hung, E. M., de la Cruz, K. M. L., Rospigliosi, M. G. D. (2023). Estudios bibliométricos en educación: revisión sistemática 2018-2022, International Humanities Review, 21, 1. https://doi.org/10.37467/revhuman.v21.5027.
Xiao, Y., Wang, B., Deng, Y., Wu, J. (2025). From ratings to rankings: A complementary approach for student evaluations of teaching in higher education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 87, 101518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2025.101518.
