Project-Based Learning at Dracula Digital: A Comparative Perspective from Romania and Brunei

Despite being an educational approach that has existed for more than five decades, project-based learning (PBL) has remained a conceptual fog, with limited applications beyond the medical and health sciences. This paper detailed the scarcity of the academic literature on PBL, specifically in relation to PBL and film productions and/or competitions. Using the Dracula Digital 2022 competition as the chosen context, this paper aimed to fill two gaps: (1) adding to the academic literature on PBL’s applications beyond those most frequently found in the medical and health sciences, the learning of foreign languages, or business and management learning; and (2) proposing that film production and competition are novel approaches to PBL. In an attempt to fill these research gaps, this study employed the 10 dimensions of PBL to identify the PBL components present in the Dracula Digital competition. The results showed that all 10 dimensions of PBL were found in the Dracula Digital competition, proving that film production and competition can indeed be considered an educational approach that satisfies PBL’s core components. This study calls for the consideration of a myriad of creative activities which should be added to curriculums to not only engage students in their learning but also reap the coveted benefits offered by the PBL approach.