THE EFFECT OF CAMPUS PRAKTIKUM ON THE CHOICE OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES

In some Spanish universities in recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of students, mainly due to the drop in the birth rate and the increase in the number of universities throughout the country. In addition, the number of (unknown)bachelor's degrees that can be studied at university has also increased. For these reasons, since 2010, an activity called Campus Praktikum has been carried out at the Universitat Politècnica de València to bring the university studies taught at this centre closer to secondary school students. The aim is to show the studies taught at the UPV (mainly engineering studies), to find out about the professions linked to these studies and to be able to have testimonials from university students who are currently studying. During one week, secondary school students take part in workshops related to university studies, which give them an in-depth understanding of the content of their studies and university life. The main objective is to increase the number of students in general and, above all, to increase the number of women who choose the UPV for their university studies. The paper describes what the activities of the Campus Praktikum consist of and compares the opinions obtained through surveys of students who enjoyed the activity right after finishing the campus and the information obtained from the student's registration at the university. With all this information conclusion will be drawn, analysing the actual effect of this type of activity on the student's choice of university studies.