Creating a home for experiential learning – a case study of an interdisciplinary product development course

This paper presents an action research-based study on how a new learning environment was co-created with its users to support an interdisciplinary product development course, and how the new space supported the experiential learning method used in the course. The data consists of field notes collected during a three-month intensive development phase and of nine semi-structured open interviews. The results reveal that the new learning environment became a home base for the students, and illustrate how informal events organized in the space increased the feeling of togetherness and decreased barriers for communication. The new learning environment became a comfortable place where the students were able to combine work and fun, interact with other students, learn from others and relax.Peer reviewe

Creating a home for experiential learning - A story of Design Loft in Graz University of Technology

Today's graduates, regardless of their discipline, need thinking and working skills, which help them to tackle complex real-life problems and challenges that cannot be solved with rational and straightforward problem solving. Environments, which support project-, problem-, and passion-based learning, or more broadly experiential learning, are needed to teach graduates soft and practical skills. Hence, there is a need to redesign traditional classrooms and learning spaces to support this non-theory-lead learning. The focus is on how we are learning, instead on what we are learning. This thesis builds on the development that took place in a product development course Product Innovation Project. Hosted by Graz University of Technology in Austria, the course is based on the approach of experiential learning, with students working in interdisciplinary teams and developing physical prototypes in collaboration with industry sponsors for one academic year. This thesis was initiated to better support the learning experience and develop a physical space which would support the different steps of product development such as prototyping, ideation, and team working, and be a place for the students and faculty to meet, get together, and interact. The main body of the data for the study was collected during an intensive three-month development period from October 2013 to December 2013 in TU Graz, as the researcher took the role of an action researcher, helping to develop and set up the new learning environment. The findings for this study are a result of thorough analysis of participatory observation field notes, and semi-structured open interviews conducted in April 2014. The data has been supported with literature from the fields of experiential learning, theories of affordances, communities of practice, and spatial design. As a result, the thesis depicts how the learning environment supporting experiential learning was set up, and introduces the new ways of working that the space afforded. The study describes how the physical, social, and mental space was developed by redesigning the assigned office space, involving the users in the development process, agreeing on common rules and practices, bringing life inside with events, and setting an example on how to utilize the new space while also supporting the local stakeholders taking ownership of the space. For example, informal events increased the feeling of togetherness, and decreased the barrier for communication. The Design Loft became a comfortable home base, where it was possible to combine work and fun, spend time, and relax. Hopefully the results can inspire anyone who is passionate about developing better learning culture, and setting up an experiential learning environment

Bridging physical and social space: Practices and behavior in co-creation platforms

Peer reviewe

The role of an external facilitator in developing new co-creation platforms in university education

Today’s university graduates, regardless of their discipline, need thinking and working skills, that help them to face the complex, “wicked” real-life problems and challenges that cannot be solved tackled with purely rational thinking and straightforward problem solving. Education in general needs to be able to continuously change and develop to meet the needs of the global and local society, and industry. The interest of this study is twofold: to investigate the role of an external facilitator in a process of educational change and to examine whether development is easier initiated, sustained and facilitated from within the organization by an embedded actor, or by an external facilitator along with the factors influencing the process. In this paper we are looking at the role of an external facilitator in change process and we draw our insights from two different cases, from China and Austria. The aims in both cases were essentially similar: to create a collaborative learning environment and implement new practices and more student-centric culture. In both cases the change was initiated with a recruitment of an external facilitator. The results indicate that an active change agent and an outsider who is not fixated with the norms and practices of the current organization, can be a significant catalyst in driving change. The study depicts advantages of pushing change as an outsider who is not embedded in the organization, but also downsides stemming from issues such as lacking tacit knowledge and insider information. In addition, the cases illustrate how change promoters are required on different levels of university hierarchy starting from university leadership to the faculty and students.Peer reviewe

Around the world in 36 hours - Understanding the dynamics of the global product design relay marathon

In this system paper we will present a learning experiment - a unique three-day global product design relay marathon organized by the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN). The experiment called Rat Relay simulates a real-world situation in product development where very often a person or team is only working on a project for a limited time and not from beginning to end, individuals work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams around complex problems, and everything is done with a fast pace. Rat Relay is a learning experiment developed by the Design Factory Global Network, a network of innovation hubs in universities and research organizations in five continents of the world aiming to contribute to transformation of learning and research through a passion-based culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and effective problem solving

Perceived long term value of industry project-based design courses: Alumni reflections from two decades of the Product Development Project

As the landscape of higher education is changing with increased competition, being able to clearly articulate learning outcomes and their significance to students is becoming more and more important for universities. Project-and problem-based industry collaboration has been on the rise in order to cultivate more ‘work life skills’. Typically, student feedback is collected at the end of such courses, perhaps augmented by feedback collected before and during the course as well. However, during their studies, students have yet limited understanding of professional activities in their discipline and work life, and thus may not be able to accurately evaluate the usefulness and applicability of the learning experience from a long-term perspective. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to gain better understanding of the real-world impact of these project-and problem-based courses in the long run, and what skills and attitudes alumni from project-and problem-based industry collaboration courses have found useful and utilized in development activities in their current careers. Moreover, we were interested to study if they differ from perceived skills learned directly from the course. In order to address this aim, the current paper represents a case study of the perceived long-term impact of one of the longest running multidisciplinary project-based courses in Aalto University, Finland. During nine months, the interdisciplinary and international student teams translate an open design brief provided by a industry sponsor into a functional prototype. We reached out to the PDP course alumni to find out what they considered as significant learning outcomes from the course in hindsight, as well what skills, knowledge and attitudes have they utilized in the development efforts of their current careers. Based on 33 interviews and 239 survey responses from alumni that had completed the course between 1999 and 2016, we categorized the content of responses based on the thematic similarity of the reported learning outcomes from the course and reported needs in development efforts of their current careers. Overall, the results highlight the perceived significance of socio-behavioral interpersonal skills, in which teamwork, multidisciplinarity and communication skills formed the largest categories. The second largest group was formed by attitudes, such as constant learning, having a ‘can do spirit’ and optimism, out of which the majority were brought up as a part in the development activities of the alumnis’ current careers rather than perceived learning outcomes from the course. These skills and attitudes were then followed by a better understanding of the development process and project management, with the PDP course often representing a first complete development project experience for the alumni, rather than a piecemeal phase or task of it. The usefulness of being able to handle ambiguity and defining problems was also highlighted. Interestingly, domain-specific skills were the smallest group reported in both currently utilized skills and in learning outcomes from the course. The results thus emphasize the social nature of professional design and development efforts, as well as the additional insights long-term feedback collection and reflection from former course participants can yield.Peer reviewe

SEFI conference 2016 "Engineering Education on Top of the World: Industry University Cooperation"

Previous studies suggest that change in education is often initiated with the recruitment of an external facilitator, faculty with industry experience or newly hired faculty replacing those retiring [1,2]. The main interests of this study are twofold: what role does an external facilitator have in a change process and to discuss whether new development should be initiated, sustained and facilitated from within the organization or by an external change agent.This paper relies on two case studies, one in Austria and one China. Firstly, a case study on an environment supporting an interdisciplinary product development course hosted by a University of Technology in Austria. And secondly, a case study of Sino-Finnish Centre, a collaboration platform between a Finnish and Chinese university. The aims of both cases were essentially similar: to create new practices, a collaborative learning environment and more student-centric culture based on an existing experiential learning platform. In both the change was initiated with a recruitment of an external facilitator. However, the starting points varied significantly: in China the intention was to form a formal strategic partnership between the two universities and the new platform was supposed to be the tangible collaboration environment, whereas in Austria the interest was to create a more student-centric and vibrant atmosphere and a supporting environment around an interdisciplinary product development course.</p

Active Learning and Engagement (TLC2020)

(TLC2020 showcase, delivered 18/09/2020) Presentations on the use of online tools to engage with and provide formative feedback to students, strategies for increasing participation and engagement using digital collaboration tools and platforms, and LTU's experience in engaging Swinburne teaching staff in active professional learning during the COVID-19 period

When Authenticity Meets Career-ready (TLC2020)

(TLC2020 showcase, delivered 15/09/2020) Presentations on a collaborative initiative between industry, Swinburne and the stage government to boost the employability of refugee and displaced engineers; a Design Factory program that uses online showcases to authentically assess postgraduate design students' capstone projects; the integration of content, assessments and experiences within exercise and sport science to produce career-ready graduates; and the collaborative and practical experiences contained in the Master of Design's new DFM Applied Innovation Stream