The purpose of this study is to analyse the feasibility of an evidential reasoning (ER) method for portfolio assessments and comparison of the results found with those based on a traditional holistic judgement. An ER approach has been incorporated into portfolio assessment of an undergraduate engineering design course delivered as a project-based…

Product archaeology as an educational approach asks engineering students to consider and explore the broader societal and global impacts of a product's manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal on people, economics, and the environment. This study examined the impact of product archaeology in a project-based engineering design course on…

The paper starts by emphasising that final year engineering projects are regarded important in the training and education of professional engineers in Australia and Europe. The sources of projects available to students were also mentioned. Some Australian universities insist on individual projects but some not, each with their own reasons.…

This paper describes the procedures used to assess the extent that a team of students, and the individual students in it, has mastered the competencies set for a student team-based open-ended project. The paper addresses questions such as: why examine team-based project work? What and when to examine? What are the essential regulations and…

The development of assessment criteria for undergraduate project work in engineering design is perceived as a difficult task. Describes an innovative course that has been developed at the undergraduate level. (DDR)

Seven years of industrial experience followed by 30 years of academic research and teaching in structural engineering have led the author to believe that the prime objective of a university design course is not the design project itself but to train students to solve problems, as this will last them throughout their careers. It is shown how design…

The paper commences by briefly introducing the systems engineering programme, then focuses on the "systems" module, which requires the first-year students to undertake a number of "open-ended" projects. During the problem-based learning (PBL) based projects the students are expected to combine creativity and the knowledge they acquire during the…