Professional Documents
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universities for curricula design. Such a concept is based upon a basic quality
philosophy, where students are trained according to well-known and researched
tendencies in industry, local or global. Such methods are based upon defining
skills, abilities, aptitudes and knowledge, and further group them in categories.
Woollacot (2009) has defined competencies as"the knowledge, skills, abilities,
attitudes, and other characteristics that enable a person to perform skillfully (i.e.,
to make sound decisions and take effective action) in complex and uncertain
situations such as professional work, civic engagement, and personal life
Competency based education at Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) in Mexico is
defined as the capabilities to integrate and functionally-operate knowledge,
abilities, values, attitudes and principles to solve complex tasks in diverse contexts
efficiently and responsible. Competencies can be generic or specific, defining
professional exercise for a number of activities in diverse context. Hence, they act
as transverse competencies while specific act as vertical construct. The generic
competencies are present at every curricula at UIA are: a) oral and written
communication, intellectual leadership, teamwork, creativity and innovation,
humanist integral commitment, judgement and responsibility.
Curricula design starts by defining three dimensions, namely, professional
formation, social formation and integral formation. Aiming to focus learning
experience on developing competencies (knowledge, abilities and attitudes),
responsibility and social compromise, and establishing a true compromise with
truth and justice. Each dimension effectively maps with six areas of the curricula,
basic, mayor, minor, integration, social service, and synthesis and evaluation. Such
areas combined with defined competencies map to each of subjects taught at a
programme. Competencies are grouped in functions that define a broad
educational area that define knowledge, skills, attitudes and aptitudes toward
quality professional service. A list for functions and competencies for Electronics
Engineering programme (BSc.EE.) and Communications Studies (BA) is shown in
table 1.
Function
Problem solving using communications and
computing systems
Competencies
Describe physical and mathematical models
to represent technology systems.
Create electronic and software systems to
handle information according to
specifications
Design and build computing, software and
communications systems to assure
integrity, confidentiality and availability of
information
Develop innovative and creative solutions to
keep an updated use of technology
according to needs and knowledge