Engineers Without Borders UK is teaming up with Think Up, a leading innovator in engineering education, to provide this one-day training course on delivering project-based learning for engineering undergraduates. Project-based learning has become a highly regarded pedagogy for developing industry-related skills in students. Join us to discover how to successfully deliver this teaching technique.

About project-based learning

Project-based learning is a student-led learning methodology in which students define their own problem that needs solving. Students work in teams to critically analyse rich contextual information and make decisions based on broad, partial and subjective evidence, as so often happens in the professional environment.

Delivering project-based learning requires a shift in role for the educator from teacher to facilitator and a shift in focus from answering objective questions based on narrow, complete and unambiguous criteria to focusing on supporting students to make judgements based on incomplete and ambiguous information. This training course is designed to help you make that shift.

As a result of participating in this training course, you will be able to:

Describe project-based learning and identify the key differences between project-based learning and more traditional methods of setting design projects.
Describe the behaviours needed from students and educators to enable successful project-based learning.
Design learning activities that encourage appropriate student and educator behaviour
Design learning activities to help students develop their skills in:

Need identification and brief interrogation: understanding a design brief and how to develop a problem definition.
Divergent thinking: idea generation and evaluation.

Iterative idea development: refining ideas.
Communication of design ideas: communication of design and how it meets the needs outlined in the brief.

Outline a lesson plan for each of the four stages (outlined above) of the Engineering for People Design Challenge, or similar activity

Participants at the course will also get the opportunity to access the materials provided for staff facilitating the Engineering for People Design Challenge.

Engineers Without Borders UK’s award winning programme, the Engineering for People Design Challenge, uses project-based learning as the underlying pedagogy. This training course is intended to provide academic staff facilitating the Engineering for People Design Challenge with skills and tools to make the most of this fantastic learning opportunity for students. However, academic staff not involved with the Engineering for People Design Challenge are also very welcome to attend as the skills and tools introduced are transferable to other teaching.

About the trainers

The course is being delivered by Oliver Broadbent from Think Up and Dan Craddock, from Engineers Without Borders UK.

Oliver is Director of Think Up, a practice which specialises in training engineers in design and creativity, and is a Visiting Professor of Experiential Learning at Imperial College, London. Oliver designs and delivers innovative approaches to teaching engineering for universities in the UK and abroad, and leads the delivery of design training for an international group of engineering consultancies.

Daniel is the Education Projects Manager at Engineers Without Borders UK and is responsible for the overall management of the Engineering for People Design Challenge.

Project-based learning: ideas and techniques for delivery