One of the current challenges in higher education is the implementation and development of agile methodologies in teaching, aiming to promote a more enriching, active, and student-centred learning experience. Although these methodologies have gained popularity in recent years—especially following the paradigm shift caused by the COVID-19 pandemic—traditional teaching approaches still prevail at the university level, particularly in engineering disciplines.

This leads to the persistence of outdated materials and rigid task submission protocols, often with penalties. Students are frequently forced to choose between submitting incomplete or low-quality work or opting not to submit at all. Additionally, assessments often occur only at the end of the course, meaning students do not receive feedback in time. This affects the quality of individual assignments—especially those with task dependencies—and impacts final grades, ultimately hindering learning progression. As a result, dissatisfaction and demotivation increase, leading to failures in the teaching-learning process, even when credits are earned.
This study presents the implementation of agile principles and methodologies in two subjects of the Computer Engineering degree at the University of La Laguna (Tenerife): Software Systems Analysis (SSA) and Risk Management in Software Engineering (RMSE), both in the third-year Software Engineering specialisation, where these challenges persist.

The approach in both subjects shares key elements. The methodology is based on short iterations or sprints, ensuring deadlines are met while offering flexibility and feedback. In SSA, students work in groups from the beginning and use Trello as a Kanban tool for visual task management. In RMSE, students work individually until the final group submission. This mirrors how agile is applied in professional environments, bridging academia and industry and exposing students early to real-world scenarios.

To assess outcomes, a mixed-methods approach was used, combining Likert-scale quantitative analysis and qualitative feedback. Given that some students took both courses, the survey aimed to assess the individual impact of this methodology. In SSA, an additional goal was to evaluate whether Kanban boards improved task organisation. The survey included 8 multiple-choice questions plus a comments section; for SSA, 5 additional questions were added to evaluate students' experience using Kanban boards, making a total of 13 items for this group.

Results from the 2024–2025 academic year (May 2025) show a 100% response rate in SSA (8 out of 8 enrolled students) and 80% in RMSE (4 out of 5 enrolled). Findings reveal that agile methodologies helped students produce higher quality work thanks to increased feedback and flexibility (“strongly agree” and “agree” dominated), leading to better task organisation both within the subjects and overall. While Kanban boards in SSA did not strongly correlate with better organisation (“neutral”, “agree”, and “strongly agree” were most common), many students intend to use them in future academic and professional projects. Finally, the study confirms that agile approaches remain uncommon in Computer Engineering degrees, supporting the need to extend these practices to more subjects.

Keywords: Higher Education, Agile Methodologies, Computer Science.