Articulation between technical secondary education and university programs to promote engineering through the development of projects with Design Thinking

Abstract

As part of its commitment to science, technology, and the training of new generations of engineers, the Antonio José Camacho University Institution (UNIAJC) established a strategic alliance with the CASD Program of the Santo Tomás School in Cali to develop an educational project based on the Design Thinking methodology, aimed at 11th-grade students in the Electricity and Electronics specialty. As part of this experience, five working teams were formed, each led by two student leaders, with the goal of fostering interest in engineering among technical high school students. The project emerged as a concrete response to the need to bridge the existing gap between secondary and higher education, facilitating a more meaningful and smoother transition into university programs in STEM fields. The initiative included joint actions between both institutions, such as teacher training led by university experts, technical support for developing IoT-based solutions, and the systematization of results through a digital registration platform.

At the core of this collaboration, students applied the principles of Design Thinking to identify a real problem in their school environment, generate innovative ideas, and implement a technological solution: an automated smart irrigation system for a vertical garden. This initiative integrated key engineering knowledge—such as programming, electronics, data science, and biology—into an educational experience with tangible impact. The development of the irrigation system addressed a specific need identified by the students themselves: reducing classroom temperature, improving the visual quality of the environment, and minimizing internal distractions. Following the installation of the automated vertical garden, an average temperature reduction of 2°C in the classroom was achieved, along with an improvement in the room’s aesthetics, creating a natural barrier between the indoor space and the outside environment. This solution demonstrated the real-world applicability of the knowledge acquired and highlighted the students’ ability to respond creatively and technically to contextual challenges. Beyond the physical impact on the classroom, the project also helped strengthen essential cross-cutting competencies in engineering education, such as teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Additionally, the experience enabled the updating of micro-curricula and pedagogical strategies, incorporating active and collaborative approaches that enhance technical education at the secondary level.