Today's society is immersed in a constant change process, so education needs to evolve to train professionals capable of facing real challenges. The integration of methodologies that encourage critical thinking and develop creativity is essential to train decision-making and problem-solving. These strategies foster active and meaningful learning, connecting knowledge with practice and promoting innovative solutions to complex problems.

This educational innovation proposal is part of line: E3. Learning Based on Challenges - Design Thinking, included in the call for Educational Innovation Projects of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. This line of action has been chosen because it allows us to carry out experiential learning, applying active methodologies and involving the students in each session, which makes it possible to focus the teaching-learning process on the student and encourage critical thinking through progressive activities during the development of the challenges posed. In addition, the setting of various challenges with a pedagogical character favours work by competencies, actively working on the search for solutions to promote sustainability in the building sector and integrating technological innovation.

The aim is to improve students' scientific and technical knowledge, promoting values that align the search for solutions with the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. These challenges encourage teamwork, guiding students to work on the so-called ‘soft skills’, which are currently in high demand in science and engineering profiles. In this way, it is a methodology with high added value for university education where students focus on tackling current problems, favouring a collaborative environment based on empathy and optimism that allows them to carry out a creative reasoning process.

This work shows the process conducted to design the challenges proposed by the undergraduate and master's degree students of the E.T.S. de Edificación de Madrid. It also includes the timeframe and the mechanisms for coordinating the teaching staff to develop this multidisciplinary experience. In the same way, the evaluation methods used and their impact on the students are also included. This proposal aims to promote educational innovation activities in university contexts, offering an example of how to carry out a Challenge-Based Learning and Design Thinking experience that can serve as a basis for other teachers interested in applying these methodologies.

Keywords: Challenge-Based Learning, Design Thinking, critical thinking, sustainability, university teachings.