Aprendizaje basado en proyectos reales aplicado a la formación del Ingeniero de Software

The reflections about how to give a more professional context to the software development on the degree of Informatics' Engineering led to the implementation of a pedagogic strategy at the Universidad de Tarapacá, Chile, to confront students with real problems under real contexts. Afterwards the impact of an early involvement on professional exercise by graduated students of the previously mentioned degree was enquired. Alumni that developed projects in real business were surveyed and professors, business owners and an expert were interviewed. The results obtained allow establishing that graduated students highly value this strategy and its characteristics, even recommending keeping or increasing the emphasis on the use of the strategy. In the same way, employers and lecturers as well address the positive impact of the strategy and how it helps to develop a more realistic professional experience for students.