University of Ciego de Ávila Máximo Gómez Báez

ISSN: 2309-8333

RNPS: 2411

|14|2026|

This is an Open Access article under the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Estrategia y Gestión Universitaria EGU

Scientific and technological

research article

How to cite:

Zúñiga Igarza, L. M., Reyes

Ramírez, A., Pérez Rodríguez, R., Cabeza

Ruíz, R., & Del Valle Suñol, J. (2026). An

instrument for evaluating the economic and

social impacts of professional training in

master's programs.

Estrategia y Gestión

Universitaria

, 14, e9172.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20602332

Received: 05/06/2026

Accepted: 22/06/2026

Published: 09/07/2026

Corresponding author:

libys.martha@gmail.com

Conflict of interest:

the authors declare

that they have no conflict of interest,

which may have influenced the results

obtained or the proposed interpretations

An instrument for evaluating the

economic and social impacts of

professional training in master's

programs

Un instrumento para la evaluación de

impactos económicos y sociales en la

formación profesional en maestrías

Um instrumento para avaliar os impactos

económicos e sociais da formação

profissional nos programas de mestrado

Abstract

Introduction: assessing the impact of higher education is one

of the most complex and relevant challenges in contemporary

educational research for measuring the economic and social

returns of master’s programs. Objective: to design an

instrument for assessing the economic and social impacts of

the academic master’s program in Computer-Aided Design and

Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), affiliated with the CAD/CAM Study

Center at the University of Holguín, Cuba, contributing to the

continuous improvement of the program with effects on

territorial development through the contributions of its

graduates. Method: an explanatory sequential mixed‑methods

design was used, together with longitudinal studies, supported

by other groups of theoretical and empirical research methods

in a process of reviewing experiences in this field of knowledge

to serve as the basis for constructing the proposed instrument.

Results: the concept of knowledge valorization as a whole was

adopted and operationalized into an instrument for evaluating

the economic and social impacts of academic master’s

programs. Conclusion: the instrument also aids the empirical

demonstration of the added value of the master’s training in

CAD/CAM through its implications for R&D+i programs in

promoting and advancing territorial development.

Keywords: instrument, economic and social impacts,

professional training, master’s programs

Resumen

Introducción: la evaluación del impacto de la educación

superior constituye uno de los desafíos más complejos y

relevantes de la investigación educativa contemporánea para

medir los retornos económicos y sociales de los programas de

máster.

Libys Martha Zúñiga Igarza

Universidad de Holguín

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9669-8658

libys.martha@gmail.com

Cuba

Anabel Reyes Ramírez

Universidad de Holguín

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5735-4115

anabel.reyes.cu@gmail.com

Cuba

Roberto Pérez Rodríguez

Universidad de Holguín

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5741-5168

roberto.perez.cu@gmail.com

Cuba

Robbin Cabeza Ruíz

Universidad de Holguín

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4719-8264

robbinc91@gmail.com

Cuba

Judith Del Valle Suñol

Hospital docente universitario Lucía Iñiguez

Landín

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4288-035X

jdvsunol@gmail.com

Cuba

Estrategia y Gestión Universitaria

ISSN

: 2309-8333

RNPS:

2411

| Vol. 14|2026|

Objetivo:

diseñar un instrumento para la evaluación de impactos económicos y

sociales del programa académico del máster en Diseño y Fabricación Asistidos por

Computadoras (CAD/CAM) adscrita al Centro de Estudios CAD/CAM en la

Universidad de Holguín, Cuba, en contribución a la mejora continua del programa

con efectos en el desarrollo territorial desde las aportaciones de sus egresados.

Método:

diseño metodológico mixto secuencial explicativo, junto a estudios

longitudinales, apoyados en otros grupos de métodos teóricos y empíricos de la

investigación científica en un proceso de revisión de las experiencias en este

campo del conocimiento que permitiera tomar de base para la construcción del

instrumento propuesto.

Resultados:

el concepto de valorización del

conocimiento como totalidad, ha sido apropiado para derivarlo en un instrumento

de evaluación de impactos económicos y sociales para programas académicos de

maestrías.

Conclusión:

ayuda además a la demostración empírica del valor

añadido de la formación del máster en CAD/CAM por las implicaciones en los

programas de I+D+i en la promoción y progreso del desarrollo territorial.

Palabras clave:

instrumento, impactos económicos y sociales, formación

profesional, maestrías

Resumo

Introdução: a avaliação do impacto do ensino superior constitui um dos desafios

mais complexos e relevantes da pesquisa educacional contemporânea para

mensurar os retornos econômicos e sociais dos programas de mestrado. Objetivo:

elaborar um instrumento para a avaliação dos impactos econômicos e sociais do

programa acadêmico de mestrado em Projeto e Fabricação Assistidos por

Computador (CAD/CAM), vinculado ao Centro de Estudos CAD/CAM da

Universidade de Holguín, Cuba, em contribuição à melhoria contínua do programa

com efeitos no desenvolvimento territorial a partir das contribuições de seus

egressos. Método: utilizou‑se um desenho metodológico misto sequencial

explicativo, juntamente com estudos longitudinais, apoiado por outros conjuntos

de métodos teóricos e empíricos da investigação científica, em um processo de

revisão das experiências nesse campo do conhecimento que permitiu servir de base

para a construção do instrumento proposto. Resultados: o conceito de valorização

do conhecimento como totalidade foi apropriado e derivado em um instrumento

de avaliação dos impactos econômicos e sociais para programas acadêmicos de

mestrado. Conclusão: além disso, contribui para a demonstração empírica do

valor agregado da formação de mestrado em CAD/CAM pelas implicações nos

programas de P&D&I na promoção e no progresso do desenvolvimento territorial.

Palavras-chave:

instrumento, impactos econômicos e sociais, formação

profissional, mestrados

e9172

Introduction

Assessing the impact of graduate education offered by higher education

institutions (HEIs) worldwide is among the most difficult and consequential

challenges facing contemporary educational research. With growing demands for

institutional accountability, the need for rigorous, validated instruments capable of

measuring the economic and social returns of master's programs from the standpoint

of change and transformation experienced by program participants, has taken on

strategic importance (Ma et al., 2019; Psacharopoulos & Patrinos, 2018; Bermúdez

Morris & Pérez Martín, 2022).

Graduate professional training, referred to in Cuba as academic

postgraduate education, positions master's programs at the intersection of academic

specialization and workforce qualification. At this academic level, contributions to

knowledge emerge through thesis work, including the integration of tools, models,

strategies, and methods, among other outputs. As Tight (2019) and Teichler (2020)

have observed, the transition toward knowledge economies demands not only

expanded access to this level of training but also empirical evidence of its added

value. Thus, firms increasingly favor such academic preparation for their

professionals, viewing it as a pathway to greater autonomy, effectiveness, and

competitiveness. Several researchers (Ma et al., 2019; Psacharopoulos & Patrinos,

2018; Bermúdez Morris & Pérez Martín, 2022) concur that human capital constitutes

the primary competitive advantage and a key determinant of organizational survival.

In Cuba, academic postgraduate education encompasses all training

activities undertaken by workers after completing their initial university-level

studies. These activities may include further training, master's programs,

specializations, and doctoral studies. Such pursuits generate mutual benefits for

both graduates and their employers, influencing productivity gains, salary

improvements, innovation capacity, and motivation (Álvarez Velázquez et al., 2022;

Burbano et al., 2023; De la Cruz, 2025). Rather than constituting a discrete stage,

this represents a formative process that, according to Alonso Betancourt et al.

(2021):

...is developed consciously, in a planned and organized manner,

within educational institutions and workplaces in close coordination,

through a dynamic that integrates teaching with work and research

activities (...) through socio-professional interaction among the

actors involved, with the aim of achieving the worker's professional

growth (p.22).

This perspective clarifies that the process encompasses not only the

preparation of graduates, whether master's degree holders or specialists, for

professional problem-solving within their organizations, but also their development

as individuals and professionals in society, with performance aligned to the needs of

their social and enterprise contexts. Although master's programs and specializations

pursue different objectives in terms of job functions, research in the former and

technological expertise in the latter, the professional performance of both

ultimately converges on problem-solving within social practice. In this regard, Alonso

Betancourt et al. (2021) defines professional performance as:

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The manner in which workers engaged in continuing education

demonstrate the development of professional knowledge, skills, and

values through the execution of tasks and projects, thereby

qualifying and distinguishing their fulfillment of the socio-labor

demands of the positions where they carry out activities, tasks, or

roles inherent to their profession (p.24).

The concept of impact, meanwhile, is understood as the operation and

outcome of a collision, impression, or intense effect produced by an action or event.

From another perspective, impact is examined as the manner in which a result is

evidenced or estimates realities, whether general or specific, in society, the

environment, the economy, technology, or other fields of knowledge. Such evidence

or effects may be tangible or intangible, beneficial or detrimental (Blundo Canto et

al., 2020; Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico [OECD], 2023;

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente [CITMA], 2025).

The theoretical foundation of this article rests on three major research

traditions: human capital theory, approaches to valuing postgraduate curricular

processes, and the sociology of higher education. In the development of human

capital theory, Schultz (1961) and Becker (1964) established that costly educational

processes generate sustained increases in individual and collective productivity.

Psacharopoulos and Patrinos (2018) subsequently updated these theses with global

evidence on personal and social rates of return. In this vein, master's-level academic

training reveals underexplored potentialities from the standpoint of the

socioeconomic impacts generated through graduates' professional performance and

its interdependence with territorial development, a dimension requiring further

study.

Regarding educational program evaluation, the model proposed by

Kirkpatrick (1994) and its contemporary adaptations provide a four-level framework

(reaction, learning, behavior, and results) that has been extensively applied in

higher education contexts (Phillips, 2011). This contributes a process-oriented

methodological perspective for impact evaluation that spans from inception to

conclusion, enabling program feedback and improvement at any level, phase, or

step. As for the social impact of education, Bourdieu (1986) and Coleman (1988)

contributed complementary perspectives on cultural and social capital as non-

economic dimensions of educational value, essential for understanding benefits that

extend beyond the labor market. This dimension has received limited attention

within the technical sciences, where the focus tends to fall on benefits, which are

complementary to effects but require differentiation when effects generate

benefits.

Impact studies, as a general practice, form an integral part of any analysis

because they help generate possible responses regarding the effects (in the short

term) and consequences (in the medium and long term) produced by specific

activities or actions. They contribute to the assessment, monitoring, and control of

decisions, with the aim of correcting negative effects (mitigation) and enhancing

positive ones (enhancement). In this sense, the effect is a key component of impact

because it can reveal and interpret the interdependencies and interconnections that

e9172

occur within the process under analysis over a short timeframe. Hence the

importance of evaluating impacts to help clarify or estimate potential effects and to

derive consequences over time.

Impact evaluation in education generally, and specifically in master's-level

academic training offered by universities and authorized institutions, is conducted

to determine and verify the extent and manner in which expected change has

occurred among master's graduates, particularly regarding their social and economic

contributions to their environment (Blundo Canto et al., 2020; Díaz-Leyva & Marrero,

2021; Carrera et al., 2022; OECD, 2023; González-Díaz et al., 2023; Boffill et al.,

2024; CITMA, 2025). However, the specialized literature reveals a notable lack of

standardized tools capable of capturing in an integrated manner the economic and

social dimensions of impact generated at this level of professional training. The

present article therefore aims to design an instrument for evaluating the economic

and social impacts of the Master's program in CAD/CAM, offered by the CAD/CAM

Studies Center at the University of Holguín (UHo), Cuba, contributing to the

program's continuous improvement and its effects on territorial development

through the contributions of its graduates.

Methods and materials

Given the complexity of the topic, characterized by dispersed, limited, and

insufficiently treated literature, and with the assistance of the artificial intelligence

(AI) tool Jenny, an exploration was conducted into the experience of impact

evaluation, specifically economic and social effects, in master's-level academic

training, drawing on case studies from Europe. Validated instruments adapted to the

Spanish university context (CIE-Máster and EIS-Máster, available under Creative

Commons licenses) were employed; these are publicly accessible databases with

standardized tools used by universities worldwide, accreditation agencies, and

educational policymakers to systematically evaluate the impact of their

postgraduate programs. Similar instruments exist in English-speaking countries

(Phillips, 2011), and the Spanish-language originals were selected due to shared

linguistic and cultural characteristics that facilitate potential social contributions.

These instruments facilitated analysis through longitudinal studies,

contributing to a culture of evaluation and continuous improvement in postgraduate

higher education, and specifically regarding the CAD/CAM master's program in the

management of indicators, patterns, and potential variables. Through exploration

assisted by the aforementioned AI, in the discrimination of the information provided,

a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was adopted. In this design, an

initial quantitative phase provided baseline data, while a second qualitative phase

allowed for deeper exploration of the mechanisms underlying the impacts identified

between 2021 and 2023 at three public Spanish universities in Madrid, Catalonia, and

Andalusia, serving as a starting point for achieving the present research objective.

The study was conducted in four phases:

Phase I: Instrument Design. Three differentiated instruments were

constructed:

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 Economic Impact Questionnaire (CIE-Máster): 42 items on a 5-point Likert

scale, focused on labor market insertion, salary progression, and

employability.

 Social Impact Scale (EIS-Máster): 38 items oriented toward civic

competencies, community participation, and social capital.

 Semi-Structured Interview Guide (GES Employers): 18 open-ended questions

for employers and human resource managers.

Phase II: Validation

Content validity was established using the Delphi method with a panel of 15

experts, including educational evaluation researchers, economists of education, and

academic administrators. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was computed for each

item, with items scoring below 0.78 being eliminated (Lynn, 1986). Reliability was

assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and McDonald's omega index.

Phase III: Application

The instruments were administered to a stratified sample of 342

participants: 218 master's graduates (cohorts 2018–2022), 89 employers, and 35

academic administrators, ensuring disciplinary and gender representativeness

(databases available for working with master's programs under open science

principles for impact evaluation under Creative Commons licenses, assisted by the

AI tool Jenny, and with data reliability following Phillips (2011), with the sample

representing 87% of the accessible public information).

Phase IV: Quantitative analysis was performed using SPSS v.26 and R v.4.2,

employing descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)

with the Lavaan package, as well as multiple linear regression to examine how

master's programs influence economic outcome variables. Qualitative analysis of

interviews was conducted using Atlas.ti v.9, applying an inductive-deductive

thematic coding system (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Research ethics were ensured through informed consent, data

anonymization, and approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee for

the public databases. The results of this process, viewed from a structural-systemic

perspective, allowed for the identification of variables, including:

• Economic benefits exceed individual investment in most disciplines (Ma et

al., 2019).

• Positive social impact, cohesion and community participation, is consistent

with the postulates of Coleman (1988) on social capital.

• The validity and reliability of the instruments replicate standards of

analogous tools in Anglo-Saxon contexts (Phillips, 2011).

• Disciplinary differences in economic returns were more pronounced than

anticipated, particularly between medical specialties (first and second

degree) and humanities, including arts-related sciences.

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• Social impact proved more difficult to quantify, confirming the warnings of

Tight (2019) regarding the limits of objective measurement of social capital.

These elements laid the groundwork for delineating the instrument for

evaluating the economic and social effects generated by the CAD/CAM master's

program, as promoted by graduates through their professional performance in their

respective organizations. Furthermore, through a historical-logical analysis, this

master's program has been developed at the CAD/CAM Studies Center over 28 years

of dedicated work toward scientific development across engineering disciplines:

civil, geomatics, mechanical, computer science, hydraulic, agronomy, addressing

the challenges of the country's strategic programs.

The program's research lines are closely aligned with the needs of

socioeconomic development and play a leading role at the national level, in line with

the priorities of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES) and the UHo. These lines

include Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM),

Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP), and

Building Information Modelling (BIM), also recognized as CAx. However, the program

encompasses a more complex and comprehensive vision that includes Engineering

Systems as a framework and Artificial Intelligence for intelligent Big Data

management and decision-making. Based on these trends and needs, the master's

program provides broad scientific culture and advanced knowledge, facilitating its

contextualization toward the transition to Industry 4.0.

Cuban higher education deploys a quality framework for postgraduate

activity that includes the development of a program-specific instrument for

measuring impacts. For the CAD/CAM Master's program, this is a crucial aspect, as

the program has already completed 11 editions with an excellence quality rating

from the National Accreditation Board (JAN).

The program is characterized by continuous improvement in theoretical,

methodological, and practical aspects, reflected in the proper organization of

teaching and research activities, the currency and relevance of content addressed

and investigated, and its relationship with the development of science and

technology in its field of knowledge in recent years. These elements have served as

the starting point for developing the economic and social impact evaluation

instrument for this academic program, as a renewal of the instrument used to date,

guided by a conception aimed at territorial development, its effects, and

socioeconomic consequences. Validating this perspective based on other experiences

that help optimize the quality of the CAD/CAM master's program is a pressing need.

From another angle, the application of scientific research methods such as

inductive-deductive analysis enabled the examination and determination that, from

this diversity of possible impacts in master's programs, the conception associated

with knowledge valorization is feasible. Its purpose is the systematization and

valorization of knowledge based on the effects and consequences that the academic

program produces in graduates over time from both economic and social standpoints.

In this regard, knowledge valorization is recognized as the process of

creating induced amounts, obtained at social and economic levels, resulting from

products (transformation of data, technical know-how, and other outputs associated

e9172

with research into goods and services) of knowledge for the benefit of society

(European Union, 2022; CITMA, 2025). Therefore, the contributions of the master's

academic program from an economic and social perspective, as realized by its

graduates, were framed within the following particularity:

• The program implements a closed curriculum based on Project-Based

Learning (PBL) methodologies (Mújica, 2011; Alonso Betancourt et al., 2020;

Almeida Gomes et al., 2024; Zúñiga-Igarza et al., 2021b), integrated with

the project system established by CITMA through the CAD/CAM Studies

Center to which the master's program belongs.

In this sense, PBL, according to Zúñiga-Igarza et al. (2021a),

...links the mode of learning with project development, where both

converge in their procedural nature, gradual development to build

new qualities, products, or knowledge, with a defined purpose and

participatory character (...) this convergence is valid because

project-based learning can be leveraged as a methodological option

in a creative act through action research (p. 1).

This potential of PBL in the academic training of the master's program means

that, on the one hand, students learn to conduct research within a research project,

responding to the socioeconomic demands of the territory; and on the other, they

develop professional competencies and professional growth, contributing to the

transition toward Industry 4.0. Consequently, the expected impacts of the master's

program are aligned with and evaluated from the standpoint of knowledge

valorization as declared in the management of Research, Development, and

Innovation (R&D&I) projects, from economic and social perspectives, based on:

• The complementarity and interconnection between the mandatory academic

curriculum and the research academic curriculum, grounded in the programs

and projects established by CITMA (CITMA, 2025) and the Technology

Readiness Levels (TRL) achieved through the research conceived within the

Studies Center to which the master's program belongs.

• The interdisciplinary nature of the faculty, underpinned by university-

enterprise-community relations addressing the territory's socio-

technological challenges in shaping the general academic program.

• The faculty's competencies in the knowledge value chain regarding the how-

to of the academic program in its 12th edition, responding to the dynamics

of strategic sectors committed to the Studies Center's research projects and

employers, who are in turn involved in the master's academic training.

Results and discussion

In designing the instrument for evaluating the economic and social impacts

of the CAD/CAM Master's academic program, the following qualities were considered:

Recognition by program participants (faculty, graduates, and employers) of

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the need to enhance the program's positive effects in contribution to the desired

national development model, grounded in the following bases:

• Optimization of technological processes with economic and social

implications.

• Digital transformation processes linked to industry as long-term

consequences or benefits.

• Technically and socially trained human capital responsive to strategic

sectors, contributing to the country's scientific heritage.

The faculty's demonstrated willingness and commitment to identifying areas

for improvement that contribute to program sustainability in CAx systems,

Engineering Systems, and Artificial Intelligence, through contextualization toward

the Industry 4.0 transition via the research projects implemented by the CAD/CAM

Studies Center and upon which the master's program bases knowledge valorization

through PBL. This perspective emphasizes the analysis from the standpoint of

knowledge valorization of the master's program and its primary effects, which lead

to socioeconomic consequences that support territorial development. Therefore, the

tool created for the particularity of this master's program follows the process shown

in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Tool for evaluating economic and social impacts of the CAD/CAM master's program

Source: Authors' own elaboration.

e9172

The tool for evaluating program impacts is described below:

Stage 1. Curricular process of the program. Objective: To review the effects

occurring within the curricular process based on the following variables: social needs

addressed by the master's program; curricular design of the program; program

faculty; and graduate profile, as essential components of students' professional

growth for achieving scientific and technological results.

Stage 2. Systematization of the program's scientific, social, and

technological results. Objective: To demonstrate the effects of the development

achieved by program participants (Faculty, Graduates, and Employers) based on the

following variables: contributions to the program's research lines; technologies

transferred to strategic sectors; dissemination of scientific results; and socio-

technical recognitions, as responses to the cohesive work of the students'

professional growth process, their visibility in the academic context, and their role

as agents of change in the territory's socioeconomic development.

Stage 3. Program contributions to the introduction of R&D&I results.

Objective: To analyze the program's socioeconomic consequences through

contributions to the introduction of R&D&I results by graduates based on the

following variables: implementation of research; socio-technical innovations carried

out; project results; and technological maturity achieved through program

implementation, along with the role of master's professional training and

demonstrated professional growth in research, progress, and creation within the

economic sectors involved.

Among the tools employed are: document review related to each variable,

structured surveys, unstructured interviews with participants, and statistical

processing of results using descriptive statistics. Subsequently, in each stage, a

satisfaction index is constructed using the Logical Frame Method (Ladov's Quadrant),

which ranges between minus one (-1) and one (1), where the closer the index

approaches one, the higher the program's impact satisfaction on territorial

socioeconomic development.

Once the stage-specific indices are determined, the economic and social

effects and consequences of the academic program are described over specified

timeframes. This perspective empirically demonstrates its added value in the short

term (upon completion of the edition), implying that socioeconomic outcomes are

produced and evidenced based on the impact endorsement of each defended thesis

and its credits in the research component, as a totality of the tool, viewed from the

consequences reported to each involved party (graduate, faculty, employer).

The tool is applied again starting from stage three, monitoring results in the

medium term (three years after program completion) and long term (five years after

program completion) to analyze the consequences of the CAD/CAM master's

academic training process through interviews with graduates and employers. The

economic and social impacts resulting from each timeframe are presented in a

results report addressing:

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Direct social consequences:

• for graduates: improved professional competencies, leading to better

technical or managerial positions related to their specialization and

consequent improvements in quality of life.

• for employers (strategic sectors) to which research contributes: given the

current state, relevance, and results achieved, transformation toward a

desired state has been possible, through improvement, innovation, or

technological transformation, a problem evidenced in the social practice

inherent to the organization concerned.

• for faculty: increased scientific potential with quality on the path toward

the knowledge economy transition to which Cuba is committed.

Direct economic consequences:

• for faculty: contribution to the recovery of costs incurred in postgraduate

programs (the set of quantifiable and non-quantifiable benefits that

individuals and society obtain from postgraduate training, Ma et al., 2019)

in the design, development, improvement, and optimization of processes,

systems, and technological activities as an effect of academic research.

• for employers: development of R&D&I projects in the technology field,

utilizing continuous professional training as an added value of modest cost

in obtaining high-quality scientific results that drive organizational

development.

• for graduates: salary improvements resulting from efficiency in their results,

whether technical or managerial in nature within the organization.

The report requires an analysis of the academic program's alignment and

objectives regarding their economic and social implications as a final outcome, with

evidence in the following relevant aspects:

• Optimization of technological processes carried out.

• Trained human capital responsive to strategic sectors.

• Digital transformation processes linked to industry.

The platform for constructing the economic and social impact evaluation

instrument was based on the following researched deductions:

• Psychometric analyses conducted using the AI tool Jenny confirmed

satisfactory technical properties of the developed instruments: the CIE-

Máster achieved a Cronbach's alpha of α = 0.91 and McDonald's omega of ω

= 0.93, while the EIS-Máster reached values of α = 0,88 and ω = 0.90. CFA

revealed adequate fit indices for both scales (CFI > 0.95; RMSEA < 0.06),

confirming the proposed factor structures. These findings corroborated that

these programs developed in Europe generate significant returns at both

personal and social levels, although the magnitude of these returns varies

depending on the specialty, the student's field of knowledge, and the

institutional context, demonstrating that economic and social impact

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evaluation in master's training is feasible.

In this regard, and based on the quality framework stipulated by JAN, an

instrument for social and economic impact evaluation of the CAD/CAM master's

program has been constructed. However, conducting longitudinal studies remains a

necessary commitment to help track the evolution of impact over time, as produced

by graduates in their organizations, given that the short term provides limited

results.

• The master's program, attached to a studies center, succeeded in

establishing an academic program under PBL precepts, derived from the

processes and regulations developed in association with scientific research

through projects guided by CITMA. In this regard, PBL played an essential

role because it is:

...a method that develops a contextualized and interdisciplinary

process that occurs between students and teachers from

professionalized perspectives through group work with the school,

family, workplace, and community, based on a problem situation

that is investigated, produces a result, and is evaluated within an

established timeframe and with specific resources, helping students

plan, design, and evaluate their learning through commitment,

decision-making, and research in a given context (Zúñiga-Igarza et

al., 2021b, p. 1187).

This has conferred the strength of a tangible socioeconomic impact

evaluation in the short term, particularly through graduate results, given by the

endorsement of result introduction and the research curriculum; in articulation with

the requirements of Programs and Projects (CITMA, 2025), because through

incorporation into specific R&D&I projects, research results that enterprises needed

were obtained from applied research with favorable economic and social balances

for territorial development.

The concept of knowledge valorization has been appropriated to derive an

economic and social impact evaluation instrument for master's academic programs

when they are subject to the PBL method, because its purpose is the development

of research into knowledge-based products, services, solutions, and policies that

contribute to both individual and collective economies, as well as to territorial

development.

Similar studies in postgraduate programs conducted at the University of

Holguín, such as master's programs in Social Sciences and Axiology, University

Mathematics Education, Applied Mathematics to Informatics for Administration, and

Professional Pedagogy, recognize responses to social needs at micro, meso, and

macro levels (current and prospective) toward contextualized transformations;

student performance in their training; and effects from social, technological,

economic, and environmental perspectives in a generic sense.

Other analyses conducted in the area of medical specialties, such as those

referred to by Fernández Domínguez et al. (2026), indicate that the most important

aspect is the relationship produced between medical teaching and graduate

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performance in the health institutions where they practice their profession, from

the social repercussion of their actions.

A different perspective addresses the impact on capacity-building projects,

Boffill et al. (2024), and on municipal development strategies, Álvarez Velázquez et

al. (2021), which recognize the instrument's potential for social improvements,

relevance, and contribution to territorial development.

In general terms, all the instruments analyzed coincide in their process-

oriented perspective, with a configuration of phases, stages, steps, or activities; the

inclusion of long-term consequences as a culmination in these instruments is

recognized as an aspect that receives little visibility, as does the follow-up of

graduate performance in their social function. Indicators, parameters, or variables

are also established as the core of analysis and behavior of students, graduates,

employers, and faculty.

Limitations are also observed regarding integration with scientific research

tools and project management from HEIs. There is little evidence of the economic

effect in the graduate-employer relationship.

In the specificity of the CAD/CAM master's program in its 12th ongoing

edition, the application of its first and second phases already stands out, with

contributions from 50% of the defended students to the following projects:

• PS211LH005-027, Increasing structural and energy resilience of lightweight-

roof housing against extreme wind impacts. Program: Integrated Disaster

Risk Reduction in Cuba (RRD).

• PN305LH013-072. Mathematical models and biomarkers based on Artificial

Intelligence in neurodegenerative diseases sharing common mechanisms.

Program PN305LH013: Neurosciences and Neurotechnology.

• PS126LH003-014-26. Digital transformation for the implementation of the

BIM methodology in the Holguín territory. Program PS126LH003:

Development of systems and technologies for optimizing investments and

organizational management.

• PT211HO0006-008. Agroecological adaptation of Robusta coffee in the

Holguín plains, Cuba: Case study, El Cafetal III Farm. Program PT211HO0006:

Climate change impacts in Holguín.

From these projects have emanated: articles, international events, CENDA

registrations; instruments that optimize processes such as models, procedures,

methodologies; employer impact endorsements. The economic and social impacts

are currently being recorded and processed; an aspect that will constitute a second

publication based on the experiences of the process.

Conclusions

The design of an instrument for evaluating the economic and social impacts

of the CAD/CAM Master's academic program, attached to the CAD/CAM Studies

Center at UHo, has been made possible through the retrospective analysis of studied

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experiences and the articulation of tools such as the MES Master's Program Evaluation

and Accreditation Subsystem and the CITMA Program and Project Management

System. Its purpose is to contribute to the continuous improvement of the academic

program and postgraduate higher education more broadly. It also aids in the

empirical demonstration of the added value of CAD/CAM master's training through

its implications for R&D&I programs in promoting and advancing territorial

development through the contributions of its graduates.

Limitations encountered in the research relate to the information collection

and processing process, in response to which a database is being created and

modeled to enable procedure automation as a future research line for greater ease,

speed, and result acquisition, with the assistance of the AI tool Jenny.

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Estrategia y Gestión Universitaria EGU

About the main author

Libys Martha Zúñiga Igarza

Doctor of Technical Sciences, Master in Human

Settlements Management, Architect. Full Professor at the Center for Computer-

Aided Design Studies, Faculty of Engineering, University of Holguín (UHo). She has

managed national and international projects. Her research findings have been

published in books and indexed journals, and she has received numerous awards and

recognitions, including the Dubai International

Award for Best Practices to Improve

the Living Environment (2009), awarded by the Dubai Municipality and UN

Habitat;

and the Distinction for Cuban Education from the Ministry of Higher Education of the

Republic of Cuba (2021). She is a member of the Scien

tific Advisory Council of UHo.

Declaration of author responsibility

Libys Martha Zúñiga Igarza

Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis,

Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Supervision,

Validation/Verification, Visualization, Writing

/Original Draft, and Writing/

Review &

Editing.

Anabel Reyes Ramírez 2:

Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Research,

Methodology, Project Management, Validation/Verification, Visualization, Original

Drafting,

and Writing, Reviewing and Editing.

Roberto Pérez Rodríguez 3:

Data curation, Formal analysis, Software, Supervision,

Visualization, Original drafting.

Robbin Cabeza Ruíz 4:

Data curation, Formal analysis, Software, Supervision,

Visualization, Original dra

fting.

Judith Del Valle Suñol 5:

Formal analysis, research, methodology, and writing,

revision, and editing

Financing:

Own resources

Special Acknowledgments: