Fostering Sustainable Innovation Competencies Through Design Thinking in Systems Engineering Education: A Creative Intelligence and Technology Transfer Perspective

Enhancing engineering education remains a critical priority in universities, particularly in foundational science courses, where the development of cognitive competencies, flexibility, and creative thinking is essential. This study evaluates the outcomes associated with the implementation of the Design Thinking (DT) methodology on the creativity of 154 students from a private university in Peru, serving as a foundational stage for its future integration with interactive technologies. A quantitative approach was adopted using a pre-experimental design with pre-test and post-test. The CREA instrument (Creative Intelligence) was employed to measure the evolution of its dimensions across 10 practical sessions involving development boards. The findings indicated that the intervention was associated with statistically significant improvements across all creative dimensions. Notably, students generated 49 unique technological projects, resulting in 22 scientific articles accepted in international conferences and 27 patent applications submitted in Peru (INDECOPI). It is concluded that fostering creativity through Design Thinking serves as a relevant pedagogical framework, as it is associated with students’ cognitive openness and supports the development of sustainable solutions within their professional training as future engineers.