LEARN FROM MISTAKES. A WAY TO ACQUIRE ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

: One of the skills that students of the degree in civil engineering in Spain must acquire during their studies is: “understand and assume the ethical and professional responsibility of the activity of the Civil, Canal and Port Engineer.” In the current study plan in the Higher Technical School of Civil Engineering, Canals and Ports of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, this competence can be acquired in two ways: students can take an optional subject (not all students enroll), called “engineering ethics civil” and, in addition, in several subjects of the curriculum, the transversal competence “ethical, environmental and professional responsibility” is worked on and evaluated. This work presents the methodology used in the subject “Construction Materials and their applications to civil engineering” in the second undergraduate year to introduce this transversal competence in the classroom. To do this, cases are studied in the history of civil engineering, in which failure to behave in an ethical and/or professional manner has caused the collapse or accidents in structures. The great achievement of this methodology is to ensure that this transversal competence is present in all work sessions in the classroom, so reflecting on the ethical and professional behavior of civil engineers becomes part of the student’s daily work. Furthermore, it presents additional advantages for skill assessment thanks to the continuous acquisition of evidence.