This article emphasizes the difference between a Project-Based Learning (PBL) interdisciplinary project developed in the
Industrial Engineering and Management of University of Minho and a transversal course to all engineering programs called
“Projeto FEUP” implemented in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). It clarifies three different points
of view, from three different freshmen students, about the importance of the implementation of projects as
learning/teaching methodologies in universities and the impact that this would have in the reinforcement of the links with
the professional world. In one hand, the Integrated Master Degree on Industrial Engineering and Management, from the
Department of Production and Systems of University of Minho – Portugal, requires the development of a teamwork project
in the first semester of the first year, which consists in the application of an active methodology of learning multidisciplinary
contents of engineering courses of the semester using the PBL methodology. On the other hand, all engineering courses
in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto include a course designated “Project FEUP”, that was conceived to
promote a complete integration of the newcomers; a familiarization with FEUP facilities and the services its students are
allowed to use and to adapt more easily to the academic environment. This paper aims to highlight the differences of these
two project approaches that are very different in contents, context and objectives from the point of view of the students
involved that are three authors of this paper. At the same time, the paper authors discuss their opinion about the different
project structures and the gains/advantages obtained with both. Main results of this discussion is the awareness for PBL
methodology as a dynamic and revolutionary form of learning that empowers the students where they are able to develop
not only technical, but also soft skills such as teamwork, among others.(undefined
