The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Faculty of Engineering in Bilbao supports a group of students and faculty advisors who collaborate to develop an innovative educational project: Formula Student Bizkaia (FSB). Each year they design, test and manufacture an electric car (prototype) under the principles of sustainable awareness to compete in the international Formula Student university events.
In 2019, FSB explicitly incorporated a sustainable approach when it adopted FSBi3 as acronym indicating the integration of education, research and sustainability approaches. As a result of a reflection on its activities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, the project was oriented towards a new dimension to integrate sustainability into its core values. The obtained SDG mapping of the project is illustrated in the following scheme:
The horizontal line states the main goal of the project: to provide the students with an improved access to the labour market (SDG 8) by means of a high-quality practical education (SDG 4). Based on Project Based Learning methodology, students participate in a real-world company role game to develop technical competences and soft skills by considering:
- Technical competences for clean means of transportation (SDG 7)
- Materials and resources optimization from design to manufacture (SDG 12)
- Women empowerment, specifically in STEM disciplines (SDG 5)
- Strategic alliances with companies and institutions for win-win collaborations (SDG 17)