Article Gold Open Access 2022

Towards the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through Engineering Training for Labor Market Reintegration of Older Workers

Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
Journal · Vol. 12 · Issue 16 · Art. 8020
Abstract

The inclusion of training in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education is essential to achieve them. In addition, labor market reintegration or improvement of older workers is a goal that an increasing number of people have set for themselves, especially in countries severely affected by crises. The union of these two premises has given rise to the application of a methodology in a master’s degree in engineering. This manuscript makes a double contribution: on the one hand, it presents the methodology with its application through a practical case; on the other hand, it covers how students perceive the application of non-traditional training techniques. The methodology is based on student-centered learning, using case-based teaching and inquiry-based learning. The students’ perception of this change in training was evaluated through a qualitative methodological approach for five consecutive years and through two types of surveys carried out each year, one of which involves comparison with traditional training methodologies. The results of the surveys show the favorable acceptance of this form of teaching, surpassing the results of traditional teaching methods by more than 25%. As a practical implication, this research identifies new ways of teaching complex subjects that facilitate training in SDGs and the subsequent labor market reintegration of older people. © 2022 by the authors.

Keywords

Author Keywords

inquiry-based learning education Case study European Higher Education Area Sustainable development goals student-centered older workers labor market reintegration social responsibility

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Sevilla, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Sevilla, Seville, Spain
Funding & Acknowledgements
Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI
Grant: PID2020-116433RB-I00, PID2020-116433RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish State Research Agency under Grant No. PID2020-116433RB-I00 (PID2020-116433RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).
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