PDM Field Study in Collaborative Engineering Education – Results from 2016/17

This work describes the research activities performed in the field of engineering education at Austrian Federal Colleges of Engineering (HTL) in collaboration with both Graz and Vienna Universities of Technology. To support the collaboration process in engineering education, a Product Data Management (PDM) system was introduced to several Austrian HTLs. In the academic year 2016/17, a field study was begun and that will continue in 2017/18 to determine how to enhance collaboration between students by using this kind of software and methods. This paper, which is continuing a paper presented at ICL2017 in Budapest presents the first results, obtained in the academic year 2016/17 of the survey and the impression of the lecturers regarding the level of collaboration within students’ design projects.