Issue 25, September 2019

The mandatory undergraduate research project poses a challenge to the public system of higher education. This requirement was implemented with a view to the benefits society might reap from undergraduate students’ research. However, the initiative, if incorrectly carried out, will only be counterproductive: it could produce countless undergraduate research products, with a cost of thousands of millions of euros, but lacking any real value beyond the mere compliance with an administrative requirement. Given this danger, our paper seeks to frame the problem within the current university context. It warns of the potential hazard, diagnoses its causes and proposes a teaching-level solution of an interdisciplinary nature, which may contribute to palliating some of the system’s weaknesses. The use of training groups in seminars may improve the efficacy of our university without significantly affecting its efficiency. This interdisciplinary education would prepare the student to elaborate an undergraduate research project of greater value.

This paper is based on teaching-learning methods focused on processes in which the student assumes responsibility for his own learning, based on real life learning situations and an active participatory methodology. Specifically, a collaborative work experience developed during the academic year 2013-2014 in the field of continuous evaluation is presented. The methodology is developed in the subject of econometrics II of the third degree in economics of the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism of the University of Alcalá. Students received active participation through the formation of working groups that voluntarily participated in a programmed delivery and presentation of an economic-business issue. This work requires a resolution, using econometric techniques raised during the course. This experience has a twofold objective: to improve the evaluation and implementation of collaborative learning techniques, in order to increase students' performance. This work is repeated twice during the quarter. The main results show that, in relation to other academic courses and similar subjects in difficulty and number of students, those with greater dedication and commitment to the subject achieve better academic results, as well as being pleased with the subject, and perception of its future professional utility as derived from their own opinions.

The possibility of developing university internships in firms is an opportunity for teachers both to notice the deficiencies of our usual training and to guide our learning action to the offer of additional content. During the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 courses, we have carried out in the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Zaragoza an innovation teaching project within the subject of Sistema Fiscal Español I that sought to strengthen in practical classes (called P6 ) the specific professional competences that are then worked regularly in tax advisory offices. We have built throughout these two courses a database aimed at conducting a later impact assessment of our teaching intervention. The results of the econometric exercise carried out show empirical evidence that seems to confirm the positive effect of our intervention in the acquisition of professional skills.

Through the book that is commented in this note Rodrick maintains that there is too much to criticize in economics but there is also much to appreciate. Economists have failed when they tried to look to economics for universal explanations or prescriptions that apply regardless of context. But they have been successful when they tried to expand the library of models and to improve the mapping between these models and the real word. In this note some aspects of this proposal are commented formulating some critical points in the last part of it.