The Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science and Technology (FST) equips students with expertise in aspects related to food production, emphasizing a scientific and technological approach to producing safe, high-quality, healthy, and sustainable food.

In addition to scientific and technical knowledge, it is essential to develop transversal competences that enable students to respond effectively to the demands of a global and constantly evolving food sector. Among these, the competences of Teamwork and Sustainability and Social Responsibility foster the acquisition of fundamental skills and abilities for FST students.

The present innovative project of higher education, developed at the University of the Basque Country, aims to enable students to achieve shared goals by exchanging information and assuming both individual and collective responsibilities. This contributes to creating synergies, enhancing team performance, and improving the overall contribution of each member.

The Sustainability competence broadens perspectives beyond scientific and technical knowledge, adopting a holistic approach as well as adopting anticipatory and strategic dimensions among others. Notably, the concept of sustainability extends beyond environmental concerns, encompassing ethical responsibility in food production, responsible consumption, reduction of food waste, and food safety. This dual notion of food safety includes both the assurance of food quality and sustained access to food, concepts closely tied to equality and equity. These elements are of significant value to future professionals in the sector.

For the development of the project, specific working groups have been established. One of these groups, based on scientific literature and approaches carried out by other teaching innovation groups at the University of the Basque Country, has defined learning outcomes for various competences and designed activities rooted in active and cooperative learning. The activities aim to incorporate the objectives of sustainable development while progressively enabling students to achieve the aforementioned competences. Finally, it is intended that students’ learning will be assessed using evaluation rubrics specifically designed for this project based on competences and learning outcomes.

Keywords: Sustainability, Social Responsibility, Teamwork, competence, Food Science and Technology, higher education.