Since 2014, there have been admission tests in mathematics for applicants to the Estonian University of Life Sciences for Geodesy, Land Management and Real Estate Planning; Civil Engineering; Hydraulic Engineering and Water Pollution Control; Engineering and Technetronics curricula. According to admission criteria, the test must be taken by students who have not passed the specific mathematics course state exam or when the score was less than 20 points. The admission test may also be taken by those who wish to improve their state exam score. In 2016, there were 126 such applicants of whom 63 took the test. In 2015, the numbers were 129 and 89 and in 2014 150 and 47 accordingly. The test was scored on scale of 100. The arithmetic average of the score was 30.6 points in 2016, 29.03 in 2015 and 18.84 in 2014. The test was considered to be passed with 1 point in 2014 and 20 points in 2015 and 2016. We analyzed test results and gave examples of problems which were solved exceptionally well or not at all.

Rice cultivation is the main economic livelihood for many families around the world. This activity represents several challenges for farmers and community members for rural sustainability, a cross-cutting element of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN). In response, the Polytechnic University (ESPOL), fulfilling its mission of linking with society, implemented a community program where students and professors interact and collaborate with rice farmers in the rural community of Paipayales, located in the Santa Lucia canton, Guayas province. This article explores the impact of university-community projects through the Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach in order to evaluate them as a tool for contributing towards rural sustainability in communities. As a result, it was determined that the main problems faced by most of the farmers of the “Dios con Nosotros” Association are the availability of water in the wells and the commercialization of paddy rice. Considering these problems, the wells were geolocated and a board was designed for proper water management; at the same time, water quality was studied and recommendations were presented according to the problems encountered. Two proposals were also presented to create a rice husker and a rice separator to increase their profit margin by selling rice directly to retailers and wholesalers. As relevant conclusions, the importance of implementing links and relationships between the university community and society was highlighted, guaranteeing the value of working in transdisciplinary teams and achieving a comprehensive intervention that would lead to significant improvements in the community.

The constructivist approach is based on the idea that knowledge can never be passed from one person to another. The only way to acquire knowledge is to create or construct them. The constructivist approach changes also the role of the teacher in the educational process, the task of them is to organize the environment so that the student himself can construct the cognitive forms that teacher wants to give him. In the paper, the nature of the constructivist approach is identified, different aspects regarding mathematics education are analysed as well as the potential impact on the development of mathematical competences in the context of sustainable development is discussed. The study process and learning methods appropriate to constructivist approach also were studied. In order to illustrate the need for a constructivist approach in mathematics education, the survey of students from Latvia University of Life Science and Technologies (LLU) and Riga Technical University (RTU) were carried out, the results of which proved that mathematics learning at universities has to be changed. The current study proved that the constructivist approach radically changes the process of teaching and learning mathematics, connecting it with daily life, rather than teaching only abstract formulas and using a creative approach to mathematical tasks solving. This study shows that using constructivist approach to the teaching of mathematics, the competences needed for sustainable development are boosted.