ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities were forced to implement new educational innovation strategies to avoid stopping the academic development of students. In this project, a dynamic, multidisciplinary, and experiential learning environment was created, compatible with the “new normality” with the aim of developing transversal skills and improving academic performance in students of biotechnology and mechatronics engineering careers. This objective is achieved by implementing challenges and projects related to the automation of a greenhouse and its use in experiments to analyze agricultural products. The development of the project took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, for which a large part of the work was carried out in a virtual format, resulting in a higher academic performance in the mechatronics students who worked in this environment, as well as the acquisition of knowledge about technological development in the area of biotechnology. © 2022, Associacao Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao. All rights reserved.