Closing a theoretical-methodological gap in the internationalisation of engineering curricula

The internationalisation of the curricula is considered one of the principal factors for the improvement of teaching in engineering. Nonetheless, lack of a contextualized conceptual and methodological framework hinders the incorporation of an international dimension into the university education for future engineers. This article presents the steps of an investigation that seeks to address this problem. The principal objective of this study is the elaboration of a methodological guide for the internationalisation of the engineering curricula at the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica [Costa Rica Institute of Technology-ITCR]. As a result of this study, a guide and scale for the implementation and assessment of curriculum internationalisation are developed. Additionally, the results of a diagnostic pilot study on the internationalisation of the undergraduate programs in agricultural and biotechnology engineering at ITCR are obtained. This article can be useful for faculty, school directors, program coordinators, advisors and members of curriculum committees, among others involved in the teaching, development and management of the curriculum and graduate program quality.