This project proposes mechatronics as an instrument to improve the acquisition of competences in engineering degrees by creating new teaching material, digital repositories and an innovative collaboration between academia word and companies.

It is a project in which different universities participate, such as the University of Castilla La Mancha from Spain, as the applicant organization, as well as Universita Degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio South and University Degli Studi di Cagliari from Italy, Zilinska University V Ziline from Slovakia, Universidade do Minho from Portugal, Politechnika Rzeszowska Im Ignacego Lukasiewicza Prz from Poland, ICEP s.r.o. from Slovakia and Universitat Politecnica de Valencia from Spain.

On the other hand, the project also pretends to develop STEM/STEAM in higher education, in particular women participation in STEM.  In this sense, in the last decades European Union makes efforts to close the gender gap, we can see some improvement but in the engineering disciplines at universities the situation is not still so optimistic. As an example, focusing on the universities involved in the project proposal, for example, the female students represent only 15.5 % (in academic year 2017/2018) from all students at School of Industrial and Aerospace Engineering of Toledo (Spain) but the level of woman at University of Cagliari (Italy) in engineering, manufacturing and construction study is higher, 32.2% in bachelor degree and 37.1 %. in master degree. An additional aim of the project is to attract women’s participation in STEM, especially in the area of engineering – mechatronics which is considered “famous” for the lack of females. The project activities will be focused on the exchange of good practices of females in the research and education ( project groups of three of participating universities are led by female professors) to attract their involvement. Thanks to the dissemination of the project results, specific accessible activities and attractive activities for women in the project will increase their interest in studying mechatronics.

Finally, the project address a third objective, as digital transformation through development digital readiness, resilience and capacity, by improving the digital competences in engineering areas with the new educational approach developed during the project. In addition, this proposal has been projected under the umbrella of digital skills. The main collaborations, competences improvement, designs and devices, or the specific documentation will use digital technology and therefore contributes to the development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity.