On March 21, 2025, the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), through its Academic Vice-Rectory and the Faculty of Science and Engineering, organized the workshop titled “From Academia to the Market: Micro-credentials for the Engineering of the Future,” held at the Postgraduate Campus in Santo Domingo. The activity provided a key space to discuss new models of professional training and certification in higher education.
The event featured the notable participation of Dr. Óscar Jerez, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Chile and leader of that institution’s team in the MOCHILA Project. Recognized for his trajectory in pedagogical innovation and micro-credentials, Dr. Jerez addressed fundamental topics such as professional engineering practice, competency-based curricula, and the importance of moving toward modular, student-centered certification systems.
During the session, the progress of the MOCHILA Project—an Erasmus+ initiative aimed at developing a regional framework for competency validation and the issuance of micro-credentials in higher education institutions across Latin America and the Caribbean—was presented. The discussion focused on the potential influence of these new forms of certification on employability and curricular transformation.
This activity marked a milestone in the project’s dissemination strategy, consolidating its presence in the Caribbean and promoting regional dialogue on how to adapt university education to the challenges of the 21st-century labor market. The initiative reinforces PUCMM’s commitment to academic excellence and to more flexible, relevant learning models aligned with the professional development of its students.
