Undergraduate Research for the Development of Generic Competencies: A Study of a Civil Engineering Program

Integral training based on competencies is a priority axis for higher education programs. Among the competencies, generic competencies, common to all disciplines, are the most valued by organizations. Developing generic competencies among students requires active methodologies that encourage them to lead their own knowledge-building process, such as undergraduate research. Undergraduate research may be defined as the type of investigation that is conducted by an undergraduate student, making an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline. In this context, the present research proposes to explore the relationship between undergraduate research training and the process of developing and reinforcing generic competencies. This study focuses on the perceptions of a group of professors, graduates, and students from an engineering program within a Peruvian higher education institution. The program is characterized by the design and implementation of the Gradual Implementation Research Competencies Program, which embeds undergraduate research training throughout the curriculum. A qualitative approach with an exploratory purpose and nonexperimental design was applied. The study involved professors, students, and graduates who participated in focus groups. Results revealed that the participants perceived a relationship between undergraduate research training and the development of the following generic competencies: effective communication, teamwork, having an approach to work plans, practical application of knowledge of the discipline, recognition of ethical and professional behaviors, meta-learning, and lifelong learning.