This paper intends to present an interdisciplinary project carried out in a School of Engineering, and to refer to its effects in the development of students’ skills. This project’s main goal was to present students with an intellectually demanding challenge which implied overcoming the disciplinary barriers thus integrating knowledge to solve the problems they were challenged with. After the project had been concluded, a study was carried out using a qualitative methodology by conducting two focus groups (n = 16). The main goal of this procedure was to get a better perception of (1) how students understood the project; (2) what kind of skills students considered to have developed throughout the project, and (3) the importance they have attributed to this kind of project. The results demonstrate that students are aware of the relevance of the project not only for their education process but also for the development of their skills. The results of the study also reveal that the students involved in the project have been capable of identifying the specific skills that the project work had intended to address and develop.

Based on a multidimensional definition of academic expectations (AEs), the authors examine students’ AE component scores across countries and genders. Two samples (343 Portuguese and 358 Spanish students) completed the Academic Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) six months after enrolling in their universities. Factorial invariance was ensured across countries and genders, allowing us to study AEs using the APQ for both genders and in both countries. No significant differences in factor means were found between countries, indicating that AEs are not an obstacle to student mobility. Gender differences were found in some AE factor means, Training for employment, Personal and social development, Student mobility, Political engagement and citizenship, and Social pressure, with males exhibiting higher scores. Because these differences are not supported by most literature in this domain, further studies are needed to clarify the causes of women’s lower expectations and, therefore, risk of adaptation difficulties.

The phenomenon of student dropout in higher education presents significant challenges for students, higher education institutions, governments, and society. The present study focuses on the dropout rates within the engineering programmes at one school of engineering in Mexico. This study uses a quantitative approach with a non-experimental cross-sectional design. Exploratory, descriptive, and correlational analyses of historical data from the University Information and Administration Integral System were performed. A logistic regression model was applied to assess the influence of various demographic, academic, and socioeconomic factors on the likelihood of student dropout. The results show some predictive variables, namely, Gender, Displaced students from home, High school GPA, and Mathematical skills. In conclusion, the group of students identified as the most likely to drop out comprised males who were studying very far away from home, who studied in a private high school in a general programme (not technological), and who presented lower grades in math. Since most dropouts were identified in the first two semesters, students who perform poorly in these semesters and have the former characteristics could benefit from special attention.

During 2020 and 2021, the world experienced a global change in everyone’s daily lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were confined in their homes but, luckily, had access to online classes. This study aims to assess the changes in self-efficacy perceived by engineering students in a school in Portugal. By helping to understand how students have changed their learning capacities, developed new strategies, and/or need more (or different) support to learn, teachers can target their teaching methods accordingly and contribute to a more sustainable education. A questionnaire was constructed and validated to assess students’ perceptions before and after the associated lockdowns. Five theoretically supported factors emerged from a statistical factor analysis: Communication and Empathy; Focus and Personal Organization; Teamwork and Individual Work Capacity; Technical and Cognitive Resources Management; and Emotional Resources Management. This work shows students’ percept that they improved their teamwork and individual work capacity and their technical and cognitive resources management. In general, students seem to have been able to be more autonomous as they managed to work and develop their cognitive resources; however, their emotional state and ability to focus decreased. Perceived self-efficacy was less affected in older students than in younger ones, suggesting that this group may have adapted better to the pandemic restrictions. Students who were already at university showed less impact than those moving from high school to university. There was also a difference between those who endured these changes at only one level of education and those who endured them at both levels (high school and university), with this last group being the most negatively affected.