Ester Gimenez-Carbo

Engineering programmes increasingly aim to develop graduates who can integrate disciplinary knowledge with transferable competencies such as communication, teamwork, ethical awareness and lifelong learning. To understand whether these outcomes are being achieved (and to improve teaching and curricula), educators need more than individual student assessments: they need systematic evaluation of outcomes at module, programme, and institutional levels. This chapter distinguishes assessment (methods that generate evidence of student performance) from evaluation (the process of interpreting aggregated evidence, together with stakeholder perspectives, to judge quality and inform decisions). Building on outcome-based education and quality assurance practices, we present a practical approach to designing an outcomes evaluation plan. The approach starts by clarifying purposes and evaluation questions, translating outcomes into indicators and performance criteria, and mapping where evidence is generated across the curriculum. It then combines direct and indirect measures to triangulate findings and strengthen interpretations. Finally, the chapter emphasises closing the loop: using results to guide curriculum development, educational policies, and staff development, and documenting continuous improvement for internal and external stakeholders.

Alkali-activated materials are a promising alternative for reducing CO₂ emissions and raw materials consumption due to their capacity to reuse waste materials. In this study, glass fiber-derived waste (vitreous calcium aluminosilicate, VCAS) is used as a precursor in alkali-activated systems for long curing age at room temperature. Here, the influence of SiO₂/Na₂O molar ratio on the mechanical, mineralogical, and microstructural properties is assessed. The XRD pattern, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies demonstrated the evolution of microstructure even after 28 curing days yielding a dense-compact microstructure, and according to the compressive strength results in mortars, about 100 MPa in compression was achieved after 360 curing days for 0.48 and 0.55 SiO₂/Na₂O molar ratio, confirming the stability of this system at room temperature.

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) have been used in the construction industry to mainly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Portland cement. Of SCMs, the petrochemical industry waste known as fluid catalytic cracking catalyst residue (FCC) is recognized for its high reactivity. Nevertheless, the binders produced using SCMs usually present low mechanical strength at early curing ages. This study aims to assess the effect of different accelerating additives (KOH, sodium silicate SIL, commercial additive SKR) on the mechanical strength of mortars containing FCC. The results show that after only 8 curing hours, the compressive strength gain of the FCC mortars containing SKR was over 100% compared to the FCC mortar with no additive (26.0 vs. 12.8 MPa). Comparing the compressive strength of FCC mortar containing SKR to the control mortar, the enhancement is spetacular (6.85 vs. 26.03 MPa). The effectiveness of the tested accelerators at 8–24 curing hours was KOH ≈ SIL < SKR, whereas it was KOH < SIL < SKR for 48 h–28 days. The thermogravimetric data confirmed the good compatibility of FCC and the commercial accelerator.

The author focuses the article on the need to incorporate content in engineering curricula that complements the training of future engineers from an ethical point of view. To this end, he reviews (not too exhaustive or in-depth) the different ways in...

Information about the paper titled "CONCRETE DOSAGE: FROM TRIAL-AND-ERROR TO THE USE OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS, WHICH METHOD IS BETTER FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS?" at IATED Digital Library

Information about the paper titled "CAMPUS PRAKTIKUM: HOW TO BRING THE UPV CLOSER TO THE FUTURE STUDENTS IN AN IMMERSIVE WAY" at IATED Digital Library

In 2013, an ambitious plan was implemented at Universitat Politècnica de València aiming at ensuring that all graduates achieved a set of 13 transversal competences which would make them excellent graduates not only from a technical point of view, but also beyond. One of these competences in which we want to train and assess our students is "ethical, environmental and professional responsibility". This paper presents the study carried out to check whether this objective is achieved or not for graduates from six different degrees taught at UPV. To this end, we analysed activities developed within each Bachelor degree curriculum, studying the suitability of each activity to the level of knowledge required in each course. We also analysed the perception of students and lecturers in charge of incorporating this transversal content within their subjects. In view of the results obtained, "good practices" are proposed, indicating the activities carried out which have succeeded in increasing the students' training and knowledge related to this topic. Activities, which, despite being carried out for a certain purpose, do not manage to work on and assess this cross curricular competence, are discussed.

Three-dimensional printed concrete (3DPC) is a relatively recent technology that may be very important in changing the traditional construction industry. The principal advantages of its use are more rapid construction, lower production costs, and less residues, among others. The choice of raw materials to obtain adequate behavior is more critical than for traditional concrete. In the present paper a mixture of cement, silica fume, superplasticizer, setting accelerator, filler materials, and aggregates was studied to obtain a 3DPC with high resistance at short curing times. When the optimal mixture was found, metallic fibers were introduced to enhance the mechanical properties. The fresh and hard properties of the concrete were analyzed, measuring the setting time, workability, and flexural and compressive strength. The results obtained demonstrated that the incorporation of fibers (2% in volume) enhanced the flexural and compressive strength by around 163 and 142%, respectively, compared with the mixture without fibers, at 9 h of curing. At 28 days of curing, the improvement was 79.2 and 34.7% for flexural and compressive strength, respectively.