The Universidad de Santiago de Chile (Usach) continues to advance higher education quality through its Teaching Innovation Projects (PID). In the most recent funding call sponsored by the Office of the Prorrector, the Faculty of Engineering was awarded five grant initiatives focused on improving teaching methods and student academic success.
One of the awarded projects is led by Dr. Lorena Delgado Cadena, a faculty member in the Department of Industrial Engineering. Her initiative, titled “Implementation of a Failure-Driven Learning (FDL) Environment Using Open-Source Social Robots to Strengthen Diagnostic Skills in Industrial Engineering Students,” aims to strengthen students’ diagnostic skills through an innovative methodology supported by open-source social robots.
“Technology often becomes the ultimate goal of a project, when it should actually be the tool to solve real societal problems,” notes Dr. Delgado. “In this initiative, students tackle real-world social challenges where AI and robotics serve as tools for impact—never the end goal. At the same time, we prepare students to manage failure as an essential part of the design and innovation process.”
In any technological project, errors happen: hypotheses prove wrong, decisions must be reevaluated, and solutions fail. “Traditional education tends to evaluate only the final result, leaving little room to learn from the process,” says Dr. Delgado. “Through a failure-based learning methodology, students develop essential skills to diagnose problems, analyze root causes, collaborate, iterate, and make informed decisions under uncertainty. Rather than simply teaching robotics or artificial intelligence, we aim to train professionals who recognize when technology truly adds value.” She asserts, "True learning occurs when students understand that innovation is not about incorporating the latest available technology, but about generating solutions that are relevant to the needs of people and society."
Contribution and Legacy of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Laboratory (Leind)
The project’s main strength is that it transforms years of accumulated experience at the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Laboratory (Leind) into a real-world learning experience for industrial engineering students. “Over the past few years, we have developed various social robotics and artificial intelligence projects with a strong social purpose, tackling technical, methodological, and human challenges that are part of the natural process of innovation. That experience is now the course’s greatest value,” adds Dr. Delgado.
What makes this approach innovative is that it uses failure as a pedagogical tool. “Instead of presenting only success stories, we invite students to tackle real problems that have arisen during the development of the lab’s social robotics projects. Based on these challenges, they must diagnose, analyze, and propose solutions, thereby developing technical skills, critical thinking, and the capacity for innovation. In the field of innovation, we often say that ‘failing fast allows you to learn faster.’ However, this concept is rarely put into practice in the classroom. This project seeks precisely to change that mindset, creating a safe environment where making mistakes is not a source of frustration but an opportunity to learn, question assumptions, iterate on solutions, and develop resilience in the face of uncertainty,” she explains.
As a researcher in innovation and director of Leind, Dr. Delgado has found that the best ideas rarely emerge perfect. They arise after multiple iterations—through testing, adjusting, and trying again. “We want our students to have that experience before entering the professional world, understanding that innovating means managing uncertainty, learning from mistakes, and maintaining a creative attitude when facing complex problems. We have deep confidence in our students’ talent. This project will allow them to put the knowledge they’ve acquired during their education into practice and demonstrate that creativity, critical analysis, and problem-solving skills remain the competencies that set an engineer apart, even in a landscape increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence,” she emphasizes.
Contributing to Better Engineering Education
The rise of AI has transformed engineering education, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge for academics. While Dr. Delgado views AI as an extraordinarily powerful tool, she cautions against using it as a replacement for critical thinking. “My experience in innovation and interdisciplinary tech projects has taught me that the true value always lies in people,” she asserts. “Success comes from the ability to ask good questions, understand complex problems, collaborate, make ethical decisions, and create solutions with real social impact.”
The project directly addresses these challenges by exposing students to real-world technological failures, encouraging them to reflect, experiment, and adapt. “We want students to develop a critical mindset toward technology, recognizing that no tool can replace engineering creativity or professional judgment,” Dr. Delgado emphasizes. “We also aim to spark critical discussions about the future of AI in engineering: Which decisions must stay human? How do we keep development ethical and focused on real societal needs? These questions are essential for educating the next generation of engineers.
The course aims to go beyond teaching social robotics and artificial intelligence. Dr. Delgado envisions graduating engineers who apply these emerging technologies critically, responsibly, and strategically—keeping human needs and social impact at the core of every solution. “In my opinion, that is precisely the kind of engineering the world needs today,” she emphasizes.
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates Dr. Delgado on launching an initiative that drives an engaged, collaborative approach to engineering education focused on solving real societal problems. Developed in collaboration with adjunct professor Christopher Cáceres—a Leind professional currently completing his doctoral dissertation on social robotics—the project marks a significant step forward for the institution.