The Organic Law 3/2020 (LOMLOE) which governs the Spanish education system, includes, as one of its key competencies, the “Competence on Mathematics and science, technology and engineering”. Its second descriptor reads “use scientific thinking to understand and explain the phenomena occurring around them, trusting in knowledge as an engine for development, raising questions and testing hypothesis through experimentation and research, using proper tools and instruments, valuing the importance of precision and veracity, and showing a critical attitude towards the reach and limitations of science”.

However, the existence of a written exam procedure as the basis for the University Entrance Exam (PAU, for its acronym in Spanish), in practice leads to an emphasis on each subjects’ predefined curricula, in detriment of a more research-oriented learning environment. In fact, research is commonly mistaken as the completion of a series of guided lab practices which usually do not cover the whole scientific process.

The program “Bachillerato de Investigación” tries to amend this situation, by offering students in the last years of high school the opportunity of working on the development of an original research project from the ground-up. The program covers the two last years from high school, and is divided as follows: on the first year, students are introduced to the research methodology, while structuring the basis for the research project to be tackled; the project itself is fulfilled during the end of the first year and the first half of the second. The last half of the second year is devoted to the dissemination of knowledge, for which each student must write a report on the work and present its results to the public in conference format.

In this project, teachers from the Public University of Navarre collaborate with high school teachers so that the participating students can develop a research project in the field of computer science. The role of high school teachers is to help students by setting the initial objectives of each project and by supervising their day-to-day development. University professors collaborate by mentoring the projects, providing help with regards to the most recent scientific knowledge on each area. The aim of the proyect is twofold: on the one hand, to show that this field is more than just engineering, and that it is based on basic research; and on the other hand, to show how this type of research is conducted.

Keywords: Secondary Education, STEM Education Experiences, New Experiences for Curriculum Design.