Abstract

Favoring the relationship with the community and organizations by strengthening the cultural, economic, and social heritage of the Region of Magallanes is part of the strategic guidelines of the University of Magallanes. To do this, the Construction Engineering undergraduate program takes up the challenge of giving its students the values that will guide them to coexist, question, learn, and position themselves in a critical and constructive perspective in social and work life, legitimizing the dignity of people. The institutional generic competence “Social Responsibility and Citizen Commitment” (RS_CC, in Spanish) is included in the Construction Engineering undergraduate curriculum. Second-year students carried out their internship at UNPADE (National Union of Parents and Friends of People with Mental Disabilities). This organization is open to the community and meets the needs of all people with disability who require an educational workspace. This social internship is part of the Engineering training plan, whose goal is to make students aware of their role, directly related to improving people's quality of life in a sustainable way, and to understand that the projected solutions are systemic and dynamic, responding to the constant evolution of society. This initiative is a pioneering activity in the professional training of construction engineers so that they know their social role as professionals from their formative stage. This activity was an opportunity for the development of engineers aiming at their personal growth through theoretical and practical training with a sense of reality, showing elements considered significant for a learning design based on social practices. This research was conducted, using student self-assessment rubrics and individual practice reports, showing that the students reached the RS_CC competence, by using PBL (project-based learning) in the subject “Practica I”.