Practical Training of Professional Mechanical Engineers

Abstract

This article describes the characteristics and aims of problem-based learning (PBL), a successful strategy for higher education. PBL has been implemented as an overall strategy for several programmes at Maastricht University, for example medicine. The suitability of PBL as an innovation in engineering education is analysed, given the characteristics of this particular domain. Project work and guided small group work also present themselves as alternatives for conventional engineering education. PBL has been implemented as a partial strategy for Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. The differences between the medical and the engineering implementation are analysed. PBL offers good prospects in the first few years of a programme, especially if group work tutorials and some directive teaching are added. In later phases project work offers a strong alternative. The conclusion is that PBL has certain limitations, which make it less suitable as an overall strategy for engineering education