Conference Agenda

From Problem to Prototype in 12 Hours: Transforming Career Paths

In January–February 2026, the University of Lima conducted an experimental program bringing 114 high school students into direct contact with engineering practice. Unlike traditional theory-based instruction, Ingeniería en Acción engages students in solution-building. Over three intensive days, interdisciplinary teams addressed authentic Peruvian challenges—smart environmental monitoring, sustainable urban agriculture, earthquake-resistant housing, flood alert systems, and school zone road safety. Each project implemented an Automatic System (Sensor–Controller–Actuator) using Raspberry Pi and Python programming, thereby enhancing students' computational thinking. The program produced five functional prototypes and demonstrated that engineering is accessible, creative, and community-relevant. Its innovation lies not only in the Design Thinking methodology but in enabling students to progress from problem identification to code-based control within 12 hours. Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, citing increased confidence, satisfaction, and newly discovered career interests. Ingeniería en Acción suggests that engineering inspiration does not require expensive laboratories—only real-world problems, passionate mentors, and opportunities for immediate impact.

This study addresses the persistent underrepresentation of women in STEM—particularly engineering—highlighting structural, cultural, and early developmental factors that shape gender disparities. In Latin America, women account for only 20–24% of engineering participation. Research shows that gender stereotypes form in childhood through socialization agents such as family, school, and cultural products, including children’s literature, which often portrays male characters as active and problem-solving, and females as passive.

To challenge these patterns, the study implemented an educational intervention using a story, “Sofía y Florencia: A Journey to Space,” featuring female characters in active engineering roles. The quasi-experimental design involved 270 children aged 6–8 from diverse schools. Participants were asked to draw an engineer before or after the intervention. Drawings were analyzed using the Engineering Representation Index (ERI), measuring the presence of technical and stereotypical elements.

Results show a significant increase in ERI scores in the intervention group, indicating richer and more diverse representations of engineering, including more tools, safety equipment, and conceptual elements. However, gender stereotypes remained largely unchanged, with most drawings still depicting male engineers and individual work contexts.

The findings distinguish between cognitive and sociocultural dimensions: while narratives effectively enhance conceptual understanding, they are insufficient alone to alter entrenched gender stereotypes. Broader, sustained interventions are needed. The study underscores the importance of early educational strategies, combining storytelling with female role models, teacher training, and real-world exposure to foster inclusivity in STEM from childhood.

This paper presents a program designed to bridge the gender gap in STEM fields, specifically targeting senior high school students in the Araucanía Region. The initiative is based on 100% practical sessions led by expert academics and professionals, who conduct workshops within the laboratories and classrooms of the Faculty of Engineering and Science. The program not only seeks to guide vocational choice through active learning but also establishes an access route through a special admission pathway.

Since its implementation in 2018, the program has impacted 764 students, with 143 of them enrolling in programs within the Faculty. A distinguishing factor is the post-admission support model, where students receive personalized peer mentorship during their first university year to ensure retention and adaptation. The results demonstrate that the combination of early technical experimentation, access incentives, and support networks is effective in increasing female participation in engineering and science.

The project “Women in Science and Technology Biobío Meeting,” an initiative created by the Faculty of Engineering of Universidad Andrés Bello to reduce the gender gap in STEM areas. Currently, female participation in these disciplines is low, both nationally and institutionally, due to factors such as social stereotypes and low self-perception of scientific skills among young people. In response to this scenario, the program seeks to motivate and empower high school students, introducing them early to science and technology. Since its beginning as a pilot with 50 girls, it has grown significantly, currently attracting around 300 participants per edition and exceeding 1,200 beneficiaries. Its impact has allowed the initiative to be replicated in two regions of the country. The meeting includes talks by prominent women in scientific and technological fields, who share their experiences to inspire the participants.In addition, practical workshops are developed in various engineering and science disciplines, such as robotics, geology, chemistry, or renewable energies, facilitating active learning close to the university reality.
As a result, an increase in female enrollment in engineering has been observed, reaching 31% at the Concepción campus in 2026. Thus, the project contributes to promoting gender equity, expanding opportunities, and strengthening young women's interest in STEM careers.

Robótica al Parque is an engineering outreach strategy led by the UTBot student research group at Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, aimed at high school students. Its name reflects a central decision of the initiative: it takes place in a park, that is, in a public, open, and community-based space outside the university campus. This allows engineering and robotics to go beyond university walls, bringing knowledge closer to more young people and families while turning learning into a visible, accessible, and shared experience.

The initiative is not limited to a one-time competition. It is structured as a formative process that begins with the invitation of educational institutions and continues with workshops, mentoring, and technical guidance in robot design, programming, construction, and strategy. In this way, students do not simply build a prototype; they also develop critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork through a practical engineering learning experience.

One of its distinctive features is that each team must solve several challenges using a single robot, encouraging versatile solutions and a more comprehensive understanding of the engineering design process. At the same time, UTBot members strengthen their own leadership, mentoring, and communication skills by guiding participants throughout the process.

The strategy also contributes to equity in STEM. It has supported a growing female participation and the inclusion of rural schools, expanding access to meaningful technological learning opportunities. As a pedagogical extension, it includes The Adventures of UTBotito, a series of comic-based guides designed to introduce younger students to robotics through an engaging, creative, and accessible narrative.

FICA KIDS “Academia para Ingenier@s del Futuro”, es una iniciativa pensada para que niñas y niños, descubran, aprendan y se maravillen con el mundo de la ciencia y la ingeniería desde temprana edad.

Esta academia ofrece un espacio dinámico, práctico y muy entretenido, donde podrán desarrollar habilidades científicas, matemáticas y tecnológicas a través de la experimentación, el trabajo colaborativo y la creatividad.

Mediante metodologías activas y contenidos alineados al currículum escolar, FICA KIDS fomenta el pensamiento crítico, la curiosidad y la resolución de problemas, explorando áreas como la química, matemática, robótica y la construcción.

El programa es desarrollado por un equipo interdisciplinario de académicas, académicos y estudiantes universitarios, quienes guían cada actividad promoviendo el aprendizaje, la motivación y el liderazgo estudiantil.

Desde su implementación en 2023, se han realizado cuatro versiones, con una participación de 224 estudiantes provenientes de 73 establecimientos educacionales. Un 46% de estos participantes son niñas, reflejando un valioso aporte a su incorporación en iniciativas STEM.

Además, la academia busca ser un espacio acogedor e inclusivo, donde cada estudiante pueda aprender y participar activamente.

FICA KIDS constituye una experiencia innovadora y de alto impacto que contribuye a acercar la ingeniería a niñas y niños, promoviendo la equidad, el desarrollo de habilidades y la formación de futuras generaciones interesadas en STEM.

ITERAndo con JAVER is a community-based social service initiative led by a student organization at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, in partnership with the housing developer Javer. The program promotes STEAM education through hands-on, project-based workshops for K–12 students in underserved communities.

Grounded in experiential learning and prototyping, the initiative brings engineering closer to children by transforming abstract concepts into tangible creations such as LED lamps, Arduino-based instruments, solar ovens, and basic robotics. Rather than requiring participants to access university spaces, the program actively deploys learning experiences within local communities, reducing barriers to early exposure to science and technology.

Since its launch in 2024, this project has demonstrated sustained growth and measurable impact, engaging over 500 children, mobilizing more than 20 university volunteers per semester, and delivering multiple workshop cycles across different communities in Nuevo León. The project has also evolved operationally, expanding in 2026 to run parallel workshops in multiple locations, increasing both reach and scalability.

Beyond technical skills, the program fosters creativity, problem-solving, and interest in engineering pathways, while strengthening university-community collaboration. Its train-and-deploy model enables continuous improvement, documentation, and replication.

Aligned with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), ITERAndo con JAVER represents a scalable and inclusive model for extending engineering education beyond the university, with strong potential for replication across campuses and regions.

Low interest in science, particularly chemistry, among elementary and high school students remains a significant barrier to accessing engineering careers, especially in vulnerable contexts where economic, social, and educational limitations prevail. In this context, an innovative educational initiative was implemented that integrates hands-on experimentation, multimodal teaching resources, and university mentoring, with the goal of fostering motivation and interest in engineering among elementary school students in Fe y Alegría schools in Quito, Ecuador. The proposal combines various pedagogical resources designed and implemented by engineering students from the National Polytechnic School (EPN), including: (i) student guides with online games and interactive activities, (ii) structured manuals for tutors, and (iii) narrative-based educational videos featuring a central character (“Little Owl”), which facilitate the understanding of scientific concepts. These resources are complemented by the implementation of in-person experiments using low-cost, accessible, and replicable laboratory kits. The methodology is based on active and constructivist learning, where elementary school students participate directly in experimental activities guided by university tutors. These tutors not only apply technical knowledge acquired in their various engineering degrees but also develop soft skills such as leadership, communication, and teamwork, establishing a close bond that serves as an aspirational role model for the participating students, as they have shared their university experiences.

BAQSTEM+IS is a results-based educational initiative that connects institutions of basic, secondary, and higher education to strengthen access, retention, and vocational guidance toward engineering careers. Implemented in Barranquilla, the program in 2025 impacted 98 schools (59 public and 34 private), more than 5,180 students, and 426 teachers through active methodologies and challenge-based learning. The results show significant improvements in technical skills and a sustained increase in the intention to study sciences since 2023, consolidating a scalable model.

The Technology Fair is a collaborative initiative promoted by the Higher Technical School of Aerospace Engineering and Industrial Design (ETSIADI-UPV), the Center for Training, Innovation and Educational Resources for Teachers (CEFIRE) and the Association of Technology Teachers of the Valencian Community. Its purpose is to bring engineering and technology closer to pre-university students and to promote technological education through practical projects, public exhibition of prototypes and direct contact with teachers, university students and professionals in the technological field. Its consolidation together with the Valencian Industrial Engineering Olympiad aims to strengthen STEM vocations among pre-university students.