Balanced scorecard to improve strategic management control at School of Mines and Energy, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

We studied the situation in Spanish public universities regarding the use of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), as an instrument of control and strategic management. Also, we studied its application to the School of Mines and Energy at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The main advantage of the BSC is that improves the organizational structure of the workplace and the achievement of the objectives that ensure long-term success. First we review the strategy for success used in the Spanish educational system and specifically in the Spanish public universities. Then using the BSC and applying the main strategic lines for the successful management of the School of Mines and Energy at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The strategic lines affect all the college groups and the success of the BSC tool is to increase communication between the faculties, personal auxiliary, students and society in general that make up the university. First we performed a SWOT analysis (DAFO in Spanish) there are proposed different perspectives that focus the long-term strategic objectives. The BSC is designed based on the strategic objectives that set the direction through using indicators and initiatives, the goals are achieved up to the programmed schedule. In the perspective of teaching, objectives are set to update facilities and increase partnerships with other universities and businesses, encouraging ongoing training of staff and improved coordination and internal communication. The internal process perspective aims at improving the marketing, the promotion of the international dimension of the school through strategic alliances, better mobility for students and professors and improved teaching and research quality results. It continues with improving the image of the school between customer?s perspective, the quality perceived by students and the loyalty of the teaching staff by retaining talent. Finally, the financial perspective which should contain costs without harming the quality, improving the employability of students and achieve relevant jobs at teaching and research through international measurement standards.

La arqueología de la arquitectura: método de investigación histórica y herramienta del proyecto de restauración. Experiencias en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Ponencia en las jornadas de investigación en arquitectura y urbanismo organizadas por la ETSAM.

Palabras pronunciadas por el Catedrático de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Profesor Dr. D. José Antonio Martín Pereda en el acto de investidura de Doctor "Honoris Causa" del Profesor Dr. William A. Gambling

El autor reflexiona sobre la trayectoria investigadora y académica del Dr. William A. Gambling, destacado científico dedicado al campo de las Comunicaciones Ópticas.

Obtención del modelo 3D de la azotea de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, mediante tecnología escáner 3D.

El objetivo de este Proyecto Fin de Carrera consiste en la obtención de un modelo tridimensional de la azotea de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Tras la captura de los datos realizados con el equipo láser escáner de Leica, el presente proyecto plantea el aprendizaje de la tecnología láser escáner y el tratamiento de los datos para obtener la representación 3D de la azotea y hacer posible el estudio de las interferencias en las antenas que allí están ubicadas. El modelo tridimensional de la azotea permitirá obtener un mapa de obstáculos de la antena. Con este mapa de obstáculos se quieren analizar los objetos que impiden o interfieren para que la señal recibida por la antena se propague por el espacio libre. Este PFC pretende contribuir al estudio de cómo se podrían maximizar los tiempos de comunicación entre un satélite y la antena receptora de la señal a partir del análisis del emplazamiento de la estación terrena. Se estudia en concreto la antena situada en la azotea de uno de los edificios de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación en Madrid.

Protocolo de calidad para la tasa de permanencia a un año en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

El abandono académico es un problema que preocupa en todas las universidades. Por ello, muchas instituciones promueven estudios para analizar sus causas y desarrollan programas de retención de estudiantes. De los estudios analizados se deduce que el mayor porcentaje de abandono se da en el primer año de contacto con la universidad y, por este motivo, muchos programas de retención proponen actuar sobre los estudiantes de nuevo ingreso en este período. El interés de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) por la reducción del abandono y la mejora de los índices de permanencia ha quedado de manifiesto en el pasado reciente mediante la participación en proyectos y elaboración de estudios. Sin embargo, la dotación presupuestaria restrictiva implica que los estudios basados en entrevistas a estudiantes sólo se puedan llevar a cabo de manera puntual y no sistemática, por lo que no pueden detectar la incidencia de circunstancias cambiantes (como, por ejemplo, una subida de tasas o un cambio de plan de estudios). En el presente trabajo se propone considerar la tasa de permanencia -o retención- del primer año, como indicador de calidad, y se describe un protocolo para el análisis y mejora de este indicador que integra diferentes elementos: 1) establece, como grupos de interés, a las autoridades universitarias y a los grupos de profesores que propongan intervenciones paliativas del abandono y favorecedoras de la permanencia, así como a los gestores responsables de estas intervenciones; 2) propone acciones y recomendaciones consensuadas entre distintos agentes; 3) presenta un sistema efectivo y sostenible de recogida y análisis de la información. Para su desarrollo se ha diseñado una herramienta informática en línea que permite realizar automáticamente análisis de permanencia basados en datos objetivos disponibles en los servicios de gestión de la universidad. Esta herramienta presenta grandes ventajas: trabaja con el colectivo completo de cada cohorte de estudiantes de primer año y no con una muestra, permite hacer estudios longitudinales para detectar tendencias y estudios transversales para comparar distintas carreras. También permite analizar la influencia de factores como el género, la procedencia, la modalidad de acceso o la nota de acceso en el riesgo de abandono. Los informes se elaboran de modo automático y sin colaboración de agentes externos, por lo que la herramienta es sostenible y no está sujeta a disposición presupuestaria.

Customer loyalty plan at Residencia Gómez-Pardo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Accommodation is a first need and one of the most important decisions that university students have to decide taking into account their limited budget. The satisfaction grade of these students is the relevant aspect for the administrators and managers of the university residences, because it allows assuring the viability and sustainability of this kind of accommodation. In a situation of decline in rate of retention of students into the residence, coupled with an environment of economic crisis. Hence, of disposable income reduction, it seems essential to get to know what factors affect the motivation to remain into the university residence more than others when it comes to the final choice. The offer?s increase of different kind of accommodation is another variable to be considered when taking the decision related to the management of this kind of accommodation. Thus, there is the need to know which are the key factors and to obtain information about these variables in order to go deep into the relevance grade with the aim to pursue the strategic objectives, that will allow to improve the relationship with the customer and to respond to his accommodation? needs. This article researches the motivation elements that lead the students to remain in a university residence or to abandon it in exchange or a different accommodation, as per example shared flats or individual apartments. This research work intends to be useful for the university residence?s managers in order to increase its incomes, to raise the satisfaction degree among its residents and to obtain better end results in the management of these properties. The fieldwork conducted in the Residencia Universitaria Gómez Pardo (RUGP), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), for four semesters, which means students from 27 different grades (undergraduates) and 81 surveys finished, shows the following conclusions. Not only the relation with the residence?s personnel but also the quality and quantity of the feeding and the availability and quality of the internet service, constitute key factors when it comes to make the decision of remaining or of abandoning the residence when the semester comes to its end.

Survey on student motivation and approval of educational environment at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid within the European Higher Education area implementation

A recent study elaborated by Vicerrectorado de Ordenación Académica y Planificación Estratégica of Technical University of Madrid (UPM) defines the satisfaction of the university student body as "the response that the University offers to the expectations and demands of service of the students, considered in a general way ". Besides an indicator of academic and institutional insertion of the student, the assessment of student engagement allows us to adapt the academic offer and the extension services of the University to the real needs of the students. The process of convergence towards the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) raises the need to form in competitions, that is to say, of developing in our students capacities and knowledge beyond the purely theoretical-practical thing. Therefore, the perception and experience of the educational process and environment by the students is an important issue to be addressed to accomplish their expectations and achieve a curriculum accordingly to EHEA expectations. The present study aims to explore the student motivation and approval of the educational environment at the UPM. To this end a total of 97 students enrolled in the undergraduate program of Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering and Agronomic Engineering at UPM were surveyed. The survey consisted of 40 questions divided in three blocks. The first one of 20 questions of personal character in that they were gathering, besides the sex and the age, the degree of fulfilment, implication and dedication with the institution and the academic tasks. In the second block we identify 10 questions related to the perception of the student on the teaching quality, and finally a block of 10 questions regarding the Bologna Process. The students personal motivation was moderately high, with a score of 3.6 (all scores are provided on a 5-point scale), being the most valuable items obtaining a university degree (4,3) and the friendship between students (4,2). Any significant difference was shown between sexes (P=0.23) since the averages for this block of questions were of 3.7±0.3 and 3.5±0.4 for women and men respectively. The students are moderately satisfied with their graduate studies with an average score of 3,2, being the questions that reflect a minor satisfaction the research profile of the teachers (2,8) and the organization of the Schools (2,9). The best valued questions are related to the usefulness and quality of the degrees, with 3,5 and 3,4 respectively, and to the interest of the courses within the degree (3,4). For sexes, the results of this block of questions are similar (3.1±0.3 and 3.2±0.3 for men and women respectively=0.79). Also, there were no differences (P=0.39) between the students who arrange work and studies or do not work (3.1±0.2 and 3.2±0.3 respectively). In conclusion, students at UPM present an acceptable degree of motivation and satisfaction with regard to the studies and services that offer their respective Schools. Both characteristics receive the same value both for men and for women and so much for students who arrange work and studies as for those who devote themselves only to studying. In a significant way, students who are more engaged and are in-class attendants present the major degree of satisfaction.Overall, there is a great lack of information regarding the Bologna Process. In fact to the majority, they would like to know more on what it is, what it means and what changes will involve its implementation.

Las maquetas de la Escuela de Minas y Energía de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

En el presente documento se hace una exposición sucinta de las maquetas existentes en la colección del Museo Histórico Minero Don Felipe de Borbón, de la Escuela de Minas y Energía de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Se dispone de 133 maquetas, construidas entre 1850 y 2006, principalmente para la docencia, pero también para su exposición. Se clasifican las maquetas según las materias principales a las que se refiere su aplicación, y se aportan algunos datos sobre su origen, materiales de construcción y utilidad. También se aportan algunos ejemplos notables y se hace una reseña de la mina experimental Marcelo Jorissen, que puede considerarse una réplica a escala de una mina de carbón.

Integrated approach to foreign language in the building engineering degree at the Universidad Politécnica Madrid

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular,a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Tecnica in the Universidad Politecnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme are being monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first semester of the year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience.

Estudio para la implantación de Programas en Inglés en los títulos de grado de la ETSI Agrónomos de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Universities are offering more and more courses and programmes in an additional language. At HEPCLIL, therefore, we would like to debate the methodological im - plications of these changes, giving voice to practical classroom experiences and initiatives. We would also like to act as a platform for cutting-edge research on CLIL in higher education. What impact does teaching in an additional language have on content or language learning? What are the effects on teachers and stu - dents in higher education?

Discurso Doctor Honoris Causa : enero 2007, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena

Discurso Doctor Honoris Causa de D. Antonio Fernández Alba

Discurso pronunciado por el Excmo. Sr. D. Rafael Portaencasa Baeza, Rector Magnífico de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, en el acto celebrado con motivo de la festividad de Santo Tomás de Aquino

Discurso pronunciado por el Excmo. y Magfco. Sr. Rector de la UPM en 1993, D. Rafael Portaencasa Baeza, con motivo del solemne acto académico de la festividad de Santo Tomás de Aquino. En dicho discurso, Portaencasa hace balance del año anterior, reconoce los méritos del nuevo doctor "honoris causa", el profesor Doctor Tom Patten, alaba a los alumnos y profesores destacados por sus méritos y reflexiona sobre el difícil año que les espera, con recortes presupuestarios.

Discurso pronunciado por el Excmo. Sr. D. Rafael Portaencasa Baeza, Rector Magnífico de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, en el Acto de Apertura del Curso Académico Universitario 1987-88

Discurso pronunciado por el Rector de la UPM Rafael Portaencasa, en el Acto de apertura del curso académico 1987-88. En él, el autor reflexiona sobre la situación de la Universidad y los cambios que se están produciendo como consecuencia de la LRU.

Discurso pronunciado por el Excmo. Sr. D. Rafael Portaencasa Baaza, Rector Magnífico de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, en el acto celebrado con motivo de la festividad de Santo Tomás de Aquino

Discurso ofrecido por el Rector de la UPM, D. Rafael Portaencasa Baeza, con motivo de la festividad de Santo Tomás de Aquino en 1988.