From Companies to Universities: Application of R&D&I Concepts in Higher Education Teaching

As a result of their involvement in several research and development and innovation (R&D&I) projects developed in various companies, the authors acquired knowledge of two basic concepts: quality and innovation. The application of these concepts in the teaching-learning process can help teachers to incorporate informal changes in the curriculum to provide for continuous improvement. This paper presents a simple methodology to apply quality and innovation concepts and tools in the daily teaching activity. In order to show the ease of use, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of this methodology, the experience of applying it in an engineering course over nine years, the actions undertaken, the results obtained, and the lessons learned are described here. The methodology incorporates reflection, innovation, and decision taking based on objective data. Contact with the companies involved has enabled the teachers to learn continuously and to enhance their motivation when working with students. The methodology applied and the example described in this paper can be a starting point for other teachers interested in improving the quality of their teaching.