Rethinking Project-Based Engineering Education

How can engineering degree programs be designed so that students not only acquire technical knowledge but also learn to take on responsibility, act independently, and work together to solve complex problems? RWU is currently addressing this question as part of the Future Science University (FSU) project. The goal is to develop a new project-oriented engineering program that combines technical expertise with future skills, teamwork, and personal responsibility.

To gain practical insights for this initiative, RWU recently welcomed Professor Dr. Stefan Benke from the Technical University of Cologne (TH Köln). There, he heads the MPEC program—Mechanical Engineering, Product Engineering, and Context—which is considered one of the best-known examples of project-oriented engineering education in the German-speaking world. Together with members of the working group and steering committee, the faculty expert group, and other interested parties from the university, participants spent a day discussing, working, and reflecting.

Learning Through a Change of Perspective

The morning began with an exchange between Stefan Benke and the university’s teaching and learning team. The focus was on the working methods and communication structures of the two projects, MPEC and FSU. Topics discussed included how collaboration within the teams is organized, which formats have proven effective, and how development processes can be structured in a project-oriented environment.

In the subsequent workshop with the expert group, participants deliberately adopted the students’ perspective. Using a specific task as a basis, participants were able to experience firsthand how students in the MPEC program are introduced to open-ended problems. The experience provided direct insight into project-based learning and raised key questions: What skills do students need to remain capable of taking action in such situations? What forms of collaboration, communication, and reflection are necessary for this?

In the afternoon, Stefan Benke presented the MPEC program to a broader university audience and reported on experiences, successes, and challenges in implementing project-based engineering education. In the subsequent workshop, participants discussed how a comparable degree program at RWU could not only be formally established but also sustainably supported in the long term by students, faculty, staff, and the university.

Three Key Insights

Three key insights emerged from the conversations and discussions.

1. Project-based learning works—and inspires

One of the strongest messages of the day was the confirmation that project-based teaching is not only possible but also instills new motivation and a joy of learning in both students and faculty. Students experience their work as meaningful and impactful because they tackle real-world problems and are able to take on responsibility. At the same time, faculty members report a shift in their role: away from the mere transmission of knowledge and toward facilitating learning and development processes. The result is a high degree of initiative, strong identification with the program, and a remarkable learning culture.

2. The True Foundation Is Built Through Socialization

Particularly striking was the realization that the success of project-oriented degree programs depends initially less on subject-specific content than on shared ways of working and learning. At the beginning of the program, instructors therefore invest a great deal of time in the students’ socialization: How do you work in teams? How do you communicate constructively? How do you deal with uncertainty, conflicts, or setbacks? How do you reflect on your own learning?

Ongoing reflective discussions play a central role in this process. They provide guidance, foster self-efficacy, and support the development of an attitude that enables students to independently explore new topics. As the program progresses, intensive subject-specific guidance gradually takes a back seat. Students learn to acquire knowledge independently and to tackle complex problems on their own. Reflection, however, remains a central element of the support provided.

3. Participation Means Learning Together Through the Program Itself

A particularly noteworthy aspect of the MPEC program is the consistent involvement of students in the further development of the curriculum. At the outset, both students and faculty were uncertain whether students trained in a project-oriented manner would be able to keep up academically with graduates of traditional engineering programs.

To test this, traditional lectures and seminars were reintegrated to a greater extent in later semesters. However, experience showed that students were not only able to keep up but often possessed stronger skills in problem-solving, self-organization, and teamwork. Drawing on this shared learning experience, students and faculty further developed the program and collaboratively adapted the curriculum.

Participation here meant not merely having a say, but rather a shared learning process centered on the question of how the program should be structured. This, in particular, provided an important impetus for the development of the FSU program at RWU.

Outlook

The workshop day made it clear that project-oriented engineering education, above all, fosters a different learning culture. Students learn early on to take responsibility for their own learning process, work constructively in teams, and overcome challenges together. In this process, faculty members increasingly take on the role of facilitators of developmental processes. This gives rise to new forms of collaboration that go far beyond the mere transmission of technical content.

For the FSU project, the exchange provided valuable insights for the further development of the degree program—and encouraged all participants to move forward with confidence.