Retos de ingeniería: enfoque educativo STEM+A en la revolución industrial 4.0

The use of didactic material, focused on the STEM+A concept, is described, based on the experience of children and youth who participated in the workshop, “Engineering Challenges,” an activity that took place at various science fairs in 2017. The material permits students at any educational level to apprehend the basic concepts of engineering and science using them to find different ways to solve a single problem with a limited amount of elements. This method promotes critical thinking, teamwork and creativity; necessary skills to meet the challenges represented by the 4.0 industrial revolution. The experience of the participating students was extremely positive because it was interesting for them to use elements and conditions to successfully meet each of the challenges through collaborative and participative work, taking advantage of their creativity and even their artistic skills in order to create innovative solutions.