New methods in engineering education

Aalborg University Centre (AUC) started in 1974 in Aalborg, North Jutland, as an experiment in engineering education. The history and the ideas behind the experiment are described in Section 1 of the paper. The key words in the educational method are problem (project)-orientation, teamwork and technology versus society and nature. The study is divided into two parts. The first year, the `base year¿¿, is common to all students of engineering and natural sciences. The following years, the `superstructure¿¿, have 5 different branches (`sectors¿¿) of engineering. The project-oriented, team (`group¿¿)-organised educational method works extremely well in the superstructure, which is described in detail in Section 3. The base year, which is described in Section 2, is a controversial year. It has several interesting features. Most of the initiative, for instance, is left over to the students, and there is a strong emphasis on technology-society-nature relations, training in teamwork and project-planning. But the outcome is arguable and a heated discussion as to the merits of the base year has been running for years inside (and outside) the university. The evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the AUC educational method is placed in connection with the descriptions in Sections 2 and 3, and is reasonably objective. In Section 4, the author puts forward a few personal, concluding remarks on the merits of the AUC and its methods.