Experience of substantive integration in university teaching

The strategy for the strengthening of Higher Education services in Mexico establishes among its priority objectives to guarantee the right to excellent, pertinent, and relevant education, to revalue teachers, and to strengthen the commitment of universities to their local, regional, and national communities. However, in practice, the harmonious development of these functions is conditioned by the contextual restrictions of each educational institution, whether these are organizational, budgetary, management styles, or the willingness, preferences or skills of teachers or students. In this context, it is of our interest to present an experience of strategic integration of substantive teaching functions and to show how using problem-based learning it is possible to develop research, technological development and innovation activities in a combined and harmonious way with human resources training and academic tutoring. Based on the results, we argue that this strategy allows us to respond to the contemporary goals and strategies of the educational system and contributes to the mutual benefit of students and teachers.