There is a decline in recent years in the demand for technical education among students. In this context, the URPEKARI educational research and innovation group from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), has created a program in underwater robotics and proposes to awaken the interest of young people in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) area through the development of underwater robots. To this end, an itinerary of activities and training has been designed for interdisciplinary secondary school students and students from different engineering degrees. Using various active teaching-learning methodologies, the aim is to capture the interest and motivation and increase the vocations of students from an early age (in the case of secondary school students), and to improve technical skills in the case of engineering students. Some of these actions have already started to be implemented, while others are in the process of development.

Among the actions that have already begun to be carried out and which aim to awaken their vocation in the STEM area of pre-university students are the following: i) informative sessions on underwater robotics and its applications (in which technical knowledge has been transmitted to students through classic teaching-learning methodologies); ii) workshops to build underwater vehicles, participating in different competitions on underwater robotics. The methodologies used in these cases have been active methodologies such as Collaborative Learning, Challenge-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning. These challenges, in which students from several secondary schools of the Basque Country participated, began in 2023 and continued during 2024 and 2025. Thanks to the activities carried out, secondary school students have been able to learn about the world of underwater robotics and its applications in scientific research and industry, awakening their interest in the STEM area and motivating them to continue their academic training in these fields.

In bachelor degrees, there are activities designed for students of different engineering degrees, such as electronic engineering, industrial engineering and telecommunications engineering. These students are currently working with different types of underwater robots: from their design and analysis of the necessary technologies and possible industrial and social applications, to their full development. These designs, once built, will be presented in different worldwide competitions on underwater robotics. University students will also be offered the possibility of developing their Final Degree and Master's Degree Projects related to the subject. The aim is to create an interdisciplinary group that, through Collaborative Learning, Challenge-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning, will improve their technical skills in the area, acquire transversal competences and develop a quality professional career to continue their academic training in these fields.

Keywords: Underwater robotics, STEM, active methodologies.