El trabajo que presentamos estudia la creatividad en estudiantes universitarios y las posibles diferencias por género, edad y elección de estudios que pudieran surgir, derivadas de una intervención en el aula basada en emociones positivas. Utilizamos un diseño cuasi-experimental con pre-test y post-test. La muestra estuvo formada por 206 estudiantes universitarios de Grado y de Ciclos Formativos de Grado Superior, que fueron evaluados con el test CREA (Corbalán Berná et al., 2003). Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes aumentan su creatividad después del programa de intervención, existiendo, además, diferencias estadísticamente significativas para los test de CREA formas A y B. Estas diferencias significativas también se hallan en la creatividad por género, mostrándose las mujeres más creativas, tanto en el pre-test como en el post-test, en el CREA forma B. En cuanto a la edad, son los alumnos más jóvenes, menores de 20 años, los que se manifiestan significativamente más creativos tanto en el pre-test como en el post-test, en el CREA forma B. Por último, en cuanto al ámbito educativo, aquellos alumnos pertenecientes al sector de la educación, muestran mayor índice de creatividad que el alumnado que cursa titulaciones de carácter no educativo, tanto antes como después de la intervención, con resultados significativos en el CREA forma B. Los resultados se discuten por su interés para el cambio educativo en la universidad hacia la empleabilidad y la igualdad de oportunidades en el desarrollo de competencias 2020.

The demands of the labor market are a constant challenge for universities, emphasizing the crucial importance of competency-based education to make our students more academically and professionally competitive. The benefits of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Subjective Well-Being (happiness/life satisfaction) (SWB) have been evidenced as necessary competencies in personal, academic, and professional contexts. Our research assessed these variables in a sample of 300 university students from Madrid (Spain), comprising 68 (22.7%) men and 232 (77.3%) women, aged between 18 and 47 years (M = 21.72; SD = 0.42). Our objective was to determine their baseline levels, study their relationship with Academic Achievement (AA), analyze their changes after a positive emotional intervention, and determine if they are predictors of AA. For this, we used a quasi-experimental pre/post-test design with experimental/control groups. Our results show medium–high baseline levels of EI, SWB, and AA in our students; positive correlations, which improved in intensity in the post-test, between EI (clarity and repair) and SWB, between AA and EI (attention), and between AA and happiness (OHI); and better scores in EI and happiness in the post-test compared to the pre-test, and in the experimental group compared to the control group, as a result of our intervention. Finally, the findings indicate that EI (attention) and SWB (life satisfaction) jointly predict a small part of AA. The data are discussed for their implications for change in higher education, towards competency-based education interventions that improve the outcomes and employability of our students and bridge the university/industry gap.

Open-mindedness (OM) is one of the select groups of 21st-century soft skills that are lacking in the university curricula. Our aim was to analyse the OM level of our university students and study the influence of gender and age on OM. To do so, we used an ex post facto experimental design, a snowball sampling technique, an OM questionnaire administered to 493 students and statistical techniques of data mining and multiple linear regression. The results show medium–low levels of OM and higher scores in those below 49 years of age and female gender. The variable that most influenced the variability of OM was age (82%), compared to gender (18%). The practical implications of these results aim to promote a more inclusive, active and higher-quality university education that integrates OM, together with other competencies, to make our students more competitive academically and favour their entry into the labour market.

Professional skills training and academic success are key challenges for contemporary educational systems, particularly within higher education. The labour market increasingly demands well-prepared graduates with specific competencies that are still insufficiently embedded in university curricula. In this context, acquiring new professional skills becomes a decisive factor for students’ employability and competitiveness. At the same time, academic success remains a crucial indicator of educational quality, and its improvement is an urgent priority for universities. In response to these demands, our study evaluates cognitive-emotional competencies—emotional intelligence, creativity, and subjective well-being—in a sample of 300 university students from the Community of Madrid (Spain), analysing their influence on academic success with the aim of enhancing it. A non-experimental, cross-sectional research design was employed, using standardised self-report measures (TMMS-24, CREA, SHS, OHI, SLS, and OLS), innovative data mining algorithms (Random Forest and decision trees), and binary logistic regression techniques. The results highlight the importance of creativity, life satisfaction, and emotional attention in predicting academic success, with creativity showing the strongest discriminative power among the variables studied. These findings reinforce the need to integrate emotional and creative development into university curricula, promoting competency-based educational models that enhance training quality and students’ academic outcomes.

The development of entrepreneurial competences has become established as a strategic learning outcome in higher education. However, shortcomings persist in students’ competency profiles, which have led institutions to design training programs aimed at strengthening entrepreneurial mindsets and improving the employability of their graduates. This study examines entrepreneurial competences among university students from a gender perspective within digitally mediated learning contexts. To this end, a quantitative methodology was employed, using a non-experimental, cross-sectional design with a sample of 705 students (77% women and 23% men), with a mean of 4.56 years of professional experience. Entrepreneurial competences were assessed using a validated questionnaire measuring five dimensions: self-awareness and self-confidence, vision of the future, achievement motivation, planning, and persuasion. The results show moderately high levels of entrepreneurial competences, with achievement motivation emerging as the strongest dimension. Gender differences were limited, except in self-awareness and self-confidence, where men obtained higher scores, while women showed a stronger positive tendency in achievement motivation, suggesting differentiated patterns of competence development. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, and early work experience showed a modest but statistically significant predictive effect on entrepreneurial competences, highlighting the relevance of integrating psychological, cultural, and contextual factors in future research. The study highlights the potential of inclusive and personalized pedagogical strategies to strengthen self-efficacy, motivation, and equity in the development of entrepreneurial competences in higher education, and the results are discussed in relation to their relevance for current digitally mediated educational contexts, labour market competence demands, and their alignment with international frameworks such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.