Introduction to Strategic Planning as a Support Tool at the Beginning of a Computer Career

In Facultad de Ingeniería (FIng) of Universidad de la República, Uruguay, there are multiple factors that affect early dropout and the high level of failure in initial courses. Variables such as the planning in choosing the courses to take and the organization and management of time have a significant impact on student performance in the first year courses. Against this background, FIng has been developing several actions with the aim of contributing to improving the situation of incoming students. This work analyzes a Strategic Planning Initiation Workshop (Taller de Introducción a la Planificación Estratégica, TIPE), aimed especially at the population of the first year of computer engineering. The workshop seeks to introduce students to the strategic planning of projects in a practical way, considering as a case study the analysis of the first semesters of the suggested undergraduate curriculum. This paper describes the TIPE and analyzes some results of the experience developed before the COVID-19 pandemic, on the one hand, and in the last two years, on the other hand, where the dynamics of the activity had to be adapted using a tool virtual.