CHALLENGE BASED LEARNING AS A PROFESIONAL LEARNING MODEL. UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA AND COMUNICA +A PROGRAM CASE STUDY

The traditional paradigm where the professor is the base of the learning and the only source of knowledge, it has been moved by new models that place the students in the center of the process through an experiential learning where they have to face real-world challenges where the teacher is just a provider during the process. This is the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) new framework, and the key point of this research is to prove if this model improves the academic results, skills and employability of our graduates in Advertising Communication Degree. Following this updating educational approach, Social Science and Communication School at European University of Madrid launched a program based on CBL in partnership with a prestigious advertising agency: Comunica +A. It is about finding out if this educational model is positively valued and accepted by the students. To achieve this goal, a research was developed consisting in a bibliography review and a descriptive analysis of the questionnaires fulfilled by the participants in the program. The objective was to collect the student's perception about the usefulness and effectiveness of the program regarding academic results, skills and employability. In conclusion, the hypothesis is confirmed and consequently the foundation for a new learning model (CBL) has been set. This model is aligning student's competences with the new market's needs.