Different structures of projects in engineering: the perspective of freshmen students

Abstract

This article emphasizes the difference between a Project-Based Learning (PBL) interdisciplinary project developed in the Industrial Engineering and Management of University of Minho and a transversal course to all engineering programs called “Projeto FEUP” implemented in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). It clarifies three different points of view, from three different freshmen students, about the importance of the implementation of projects as learning/teaching methodologies in universities and the impact that this would have in the reinforcement of the links with the professional world. In one hand, the Integrated Master Degree on Industrial Engineering and Management, from the Department of Production and Systems of University of Minho – Portugal, requires the development of a teamwork project in the first semester of the first year, which consists in the application of an active methodology of learning multidisciplinary contents of engineering courses of the semester using the PBL methodology. On the other hand, all engineering courses in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto include a course designated “Project FEUP”, that was conceived to promote a complete integration of the newcomers; a familiarization with FEUP facilities and the services its students are allowed to use and to adapt more easily to the academic environment. This paper aims to highlight the differences of these two project approaches that are very different in contents, context and objectives from the point of view of the students involved that are three authors of this paper. At the same time, the paper authors discuss their opinion about the different project structures and the gains/advantages obtained with both. Main results of this discussion is the awareness for PBL methodology as a dynamic and revolutionary form of learning that empowers the students where they are able to develop not only technical, but also soft skills such as teamwork, among others.