Engaging engineering students in early stages by design projects

Engaging the students by a design project is a fundamental activity for any engineering degree programme as it promotes in depth the circulation of skills and transferable knowledge through solutions that meet the learning outcome requirements of programme accreditation institutions. Literature is rich in works on the final year capstone design projects where the students are encouraged to demonstrate their engagement for innovation by undertaking open ended activities but remains less explicit on design projects at the early years of the curriculum where the transferable knowledge remains under development may be seen not sufficient to undertake effectively open ended projects with independence in decision making and leadership. This work introduces experience of education practice of the second-year chemical engineering design project through two distinct models: problem-based learning and project-based learning using two case studies: waste tyre gasification into energy and methanol production from syngas, respectively. The former model requires the students to investigate the pathway to reach solution using prior knowledge and the later requires the students to focus on the final solution. The results in terms of effectiveness of leaning and engagement revealed that both methods were seen by the students effective in promoting teaching and developing the design skills. The cognitive learning by students’ engagement was more in favour of project-based learning that offered less uncertainties in the final results and promoted feedback by the students. References Richard M. Felder, R.M. (2004). Teaching engineering at a research university: problems and possibilities. Educación Química, 15(1), 40-42 Dhanasekaran, P.S. (2023). The Role of Project-based learning in first year engineering. Fall Mid Atlantic Conference, ASEE. 27 October 2023, Paper ID #40828 Hutchings, M., Quinney, A. (2015). The Flipped Classroom, Disruptive Pedagogies, Enabling Technologies and Wicked Problems: Responding to "The Bomb in the Basement". The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 13(2), 106-119 Moure Abelenda, A., Aiouache, F., Moreno-Mediavilla, D. (2023). Adapted business model canvas template and primary market research for project-based learning on management of slurry. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 30, 103106 Curtis, R., Ventura-Medina, E. (2007). An Enquiry-Based Chemical Engineering Design Project for First-Year Students. Chemical And Process Engineering, CEEBL Supported Project 2006-7 Kiss, A., K and Webb, C. (2021). The Manchester perspective on using the Design Project to enhance the education of chemical engineering students, Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 96, 1453–1464 Zhang, J.M., Croiset, E., Ioannidis, M. (2022). Constructivist-based experiential learning. Education for Chemical Engineers, 41, 22–31