Engineering Students’ Experience on Project-Based Learning: A phenomenographic investigation

Engineering education faces challenges in meeting industrial demands and accreditation requirements, particularly in Bangladesh, where hands-on practice is essential for knowledge and skill acquisition. Project-Based Learning (PBL) has emerged as an effective pedagogical strategy to bridge this gap by engaging students in real-world problem-solving and to foster both technical and professional competencies. How PBL could be used as a pedagogical approach in engineering education, is crucial to meet these demands. This study adopts a phenomenographic approach to examine students’ experiences on project-based learning (PBL) in engineering education in Bangladesh. Ten engineering students from two Bangladeshi universities were engaged in semi-structured in-depth interviews, discussing their experiences on PBL, specifically how they experienced it in their classroom setting. The seven steps of phenomenographic data analysis technique was applied to analyze the ten interviews. The outcomes revealed that, PBL in engineering education is perceived in four qualitatively different ways: understanding engineering concept; enhancing networked learning; changing conceptual development; and linking knowledge to the real practices. The study provides valuable insights and pedagogical approaches that could be used in Bangladeshi’s engineering education to improve learning outcomes and to prepare better graduates for the evolving demands of the industry.