2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The growing demand for engineering professionals trained to lead Digital Transformation (DT) in the industry demands that academic training transcends theoretical knowledge and comprehensively fosters applied professional skills. This study focuses on analyzing the impact of a pedagogical strategy based on a Community Engagement (CE) Project, associated with the transversal subject of the Engineering School of a Chilean university, specifically Management of Digital Transformation, where these skills are developed. The research problem arises from the observation that, in the subject of Digital Transformation Management. At the same time, one group of students developed solution proposals for authentic Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that participated in the CE project. In contrast, another group that did not participate developed proposals for fictitious companies. Then, the research question guiding this work is: How does the development of professional skills in this subject compare between students who participated in the CE project and those who did not, as perceived by engineering students?
The research adopts a quantitative methodology with a quasi-experimental design, using pre-existing and non-randomized groups. The sample comprises students in the first semester of 2025, enrolled in 8 sections of careers in industrial engineering and computer science, across the day and afternoon sessions. The experimental group consisted of 147 students who participated in the CE project, applying the Project-Based Learning (PBL) and agile Scrum-kanban methodologies to address real-world problems. The control group, with 138 students, developed their proposals in a simulated context with fictitious companies. Both groups were given their own survey called "Professional Skills of Digital Transformation in Engineering", designed to measure the self-perception of the development of a series of competencies. Preliminary results indicate a significant difference in the profile of acquired skills. The experimental group demonstrated greater development of competencies directly relevant to the real work environment, including complex problem-solving, agile project management, client communication, multidisciplinary teamwork, and adaptability. On the other hand, the control group showed greater development in skills of a more theoretical or internal nature.