Palomas, David;
Sonmez, Buse;
(2025)
Student Startups. A Problem-Based Learning Strategy to Launch Career-Ready Scientists.
Presented at: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference, Birmingham, UK.
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Abstract
In a rapidly evolving job market, it is essential to equip STEM students with the skills and confidence needed to navigate industry-specific language and understand the roles available to them when they graduate. This presentation introduces a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) strategy designed to enhance employability by immersing students in real-world industry challenges within simulated professional environments. The PBL approach mimics the hierarchical structure of a startup company, where lead academics assume executive roles such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), presenting students with sustainability-focused industry problems. Postgraduate Teaching Assistants (PGTAs) act as Project Managers, facilitating discussions, maintaining group dynamics and encouraging independent critical thinking. Students take on professional roles inspired by real job postings—such as Research Scientist, Sustainability Officer, and Patent Attorney—allowing them to develop key employability skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, and professional communication. Students are assessed by submitting a report proposing a sustainable alternative to a current industrial process and by presenting their proposal to an academic panel in a format that emulates pitching a startup idea to a group of investors. Although this strategy has been implemented in a sustainable chemistry module, this model can be adapted to various scientific disciplines, providing a student-centred framework to bridge the gap between education and employment in STEM disciplines.
| Type: | Conference item (Presentation) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Student Startups. A Problem-Based Learning Strategy to Launch Career-Ready Scientists |
| Event: | Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference |
| Location: | Birmingham, UK |
| Dates: | 25 - 26 June 2025 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://ukstemconference.com/ |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | Problem-Based Learning, Employability Skills, STEM Education, Active Learning |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10210957 |
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