Egon Moesby

Global network and global centre for problem based learning

New skills are required of engineering graduates to meet the needs from industry and society - team working, communication, project management, cross-cultural skills etc. in addition to engineering professional skills. These requirements are met implicitly via the problem based learning concept. Aalborg University has proven to hold a strong position in problem-based learning (PBL) and, an increasing number of universities and engineering schools worldwide are seeking consultancy and co-operation with Aalborg University. On that background the Global UICEE Centre for problem-based learning (UCPBL) is established. This paper describes the UCPBL profile and plan of action. The activities include consultancy for university organisations that are changing from a traditional educational concept to PBL concept, staff development on organisational level, educational level and pedagogical level, a PBL master programme and short courses. We are involved in (re)-organising universities in developing countries and focus on capacity building. Continuing professional development is also a natural task of the centre as one of more aspects of university-industry cooperation. In the paper and presentation we also mention the global aspect of our work and the establishment of the global network on problem based learning and how to be involved in this.

Real-Time Quality Control Methods in PBL-based Engineering Education

Traditionally post-semester evaluations are most often used to measure and report higher education quality. The demands for Quality Assurance, quality control and quality development due to the Bologna Declaration and subsequent institutional and programme accreditation and audit demands will expand the use of evaluations. However, traditional post-semester standardised, summative evaluations are not an effective way to monitor quality as the students’ progress in their studies through the semester. Instead, there is a need for a system that enables the institution to measure quality and performance of the instruction and learning by the students as they occur, and to respond accordingly. The School of Basic Studies at Aalborg University, Denmark, operates such a system. The chapter describes the setup of a real-time evaluation system that allows students to have a democratic influence on their education.