This paper examines supporting elements of senior engineering students' career aspirations within a problem-based learning (PBL) environment in Denmark. Using the systems theory framework of career development, this study investigates both individual and contextual influences of career aspirations. A mixed-method approach was employed,…

Background: Problem-oriented project work, also known as problem and project-based learning (PBL), is a popular educational approach in engineering education. However, the focus of the literature on the implementation of PBL has been at the course and institutional levels. Scant attention has been paid to the student experience, especially…

This study explores how engineering students develop learner agency in an intercultural PBL (problem- and project-based learning) environment, along with the factors that affect their development. Theoretically, learner agency is framed within three interrelated dimensions: intrapersonal, behavioural, and environmental. A narrative inquiry…

This paper contributes to current discussions of digital teaching and technology within the field of engineering design education. We enter this dialogue by analysing a hybrid digital learning design for a 15-ECTS engineering design course. The course design pedagogically integrates principles from networked learning research, Problem-Based…

This article examines why students experience Problem-Based Learning (PBL) environments differently and discusses considerations for improving PBL environments to support a more diverse student population. Based on theoretical perspectives regarding motivation, identification, and learning, we present a new typology consisting of four types of…

Despite an emerging emphasis on the role of engineers in achieving the SDGs, there is still a lack of agreement on which competencies should be prioritised to prepare them to tackle future sustainability challenges. By formulating a theoretical framework of key sustainable competencies based on prior studies, this study investigated engineering…

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of change in students' awareness of, interest in and engagement with sustainability issues during the process of acclimatisation to their PBL engineering studies, and to look for differences between engineering disciplines with respect to these aspects. This study used a longitudinal qualitative…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is the through-going didactics at Aalborg University, but literature shows how integrating PBL into project work is challenging for students. Studies indicate that students especially struggle with the problem analysis section, i.e., what it consists of, how the structure of the analysis should be, etc. Moreover,…

Problem-based learning (PBL) dates back to the 1970s and is inspired by the 1970s' collectivistic and practice-oriented learning ideals, emphasising dynamic learning processes without clear-cut or simple beginnings and ends. Today, PBL is often performed and framed by other discourses, strategies, rules, regulations and politics than those…

Problem- and project-based learning (PBL) has been seen as one of the pedagogical models to bridge the knowledge gab between education and work. This article reports a study of students' preparedness from a systemic PBL university to enter work life. Theoretically, a conceptual understanding of a systemic PBL is presented including four elements:…

This article presents experiences and reflections from two cases of problem-oriented project work working with action research in bottom-up urban planning and sustainable transition in Copenhagen. The first case concerns the involvement of local residents in the redesign of a public square through a series of aesthetic experiments. The second case…

Contribution: This paper reports engineering students ' practical epistemic cognition by studying their interactional work in situ. Studying "epistemologies in action" the study breaks away from mainstream approaches that describe this in terms of beliefs or of stage theories. Background: In epistemology, knowledge is traditionally seen…

This article presents the main findings of an applied research project, which studied student experiences of the challenges and opportunities of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in two master programmes (MPs) at Aalborg University (AAU) characterised by diverse student groups, who bring different educational backgrounds, skills and experiences to the…

This paper describes how a circuits-based project-oriented problem-based learning educational model was integrated into the first year of a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic Engineering programme at Maynooth University, Ireland. While many variations of problem based learning exist, the presented model is closely aligned with the model used in…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has proven to be highly effective for educating students in an active and self-motivated manner in various disciplines. Student projects carried out following PBL principles are very dynamic and carry a high level of uncertainty, both conditions under which agile project management approaches are assumed to be highly…