Enhancement of undergraduate employability by ad hoc final degree project

Resumen

The Final Degree Project (FDP) consists of the completion by the student of an autonomous project under the guidance of an academic tutor. The development of this work allows the student to put into practice the skills acquired during his/her studies. Moreover, it is an evaluable and non-subjective measurement of the level in which the student has achieved the competencies associated with his/her degree.The Degree in Industrial Chemical Engineering of Universidad de La Laguna enables the undergraduates to perform the Final Degree Project in collaboration with companies and institutions, under the supervision of a non-academic external tutor from these organizations.In this study, several case studies are presented showing the reinforcement of the relationship Academia - Enterprise that results from these FDPs. In addition, the FDPs developed under this prism are technically enriched since, in many cases, students have access to specific and relevant information (not usually available in academic manuals) from the companies, as well as to contact and personally meet professionals with long experience in their positions.The results from this type of FDP show the improvement of employability skills and job opportunities that students obtain with this experience, being some of them, after graduation, hired by the companies taking part in the collaboration. A survey was designed in order to collect the opinions of professional supervisors and students. Results show the satisfaction of the students with the experience, highlighting mainly the acquisition or improvement of self-learning skills, awareness of their capabilities, and capacity for organization and planning. The surveys carried out also show that the perception of companies towards the university and its relationship with society improves.