Disciplinary Competencies Overview of the First Cohorts of Undergraduate Students in the Biotechnology Engineering Program under the Tec 21 Model

Abstract

In the current labor market, developing STEM skills in students is a priority for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The present research assesses the Competence Achievement Degree (CAD) of four disciplinary competencies in undergraduate Biotechnology Engineering students at a private university in Mexico. Descriptive statistics of CADs, considering sociodemographic and academic variables (age, gender, nationality, campus region, provenance, admission origin, and load), are presented. Data, filtered through Python, was statistically analyzed with Minitab software. The disciplinary competence of Innovation Management (BT4) was the strongest among undergraduate students in the 2019 and 2020 cohorts. Meanwhile, the other three competencies (BT1: Bioproduct Development, BT2: Bioreactor Design, and BT3: Bioprocess Design) had CADs above 90%. Although there was no statistical difference between the cohorts for BT1, the average CADs for both cohorts differed for BT4. The CADs differed from the Competence Average Grades (CAGs) for all competencies. However, the 2020 cohort showed the lowest correlation between CADs and CAGs and a few significant associations with the tested variables. These assessments will help to focus on the factors and key elements that influence CAD and subsequently establish and conduct appropriate actions to improve the quality of the academic program.

Keywords

• Biotechnology engineering
• educational innovation
• higher education
• STEM