From solo-run to mainstream thinking: project-based learning in engineering design

The paper begins with an overview of project-based learning (PBL) teaching and assessment methods that have been developed as an integral part of a 4-year undergraduate engineering degree programme in Galway, Ireland. The course described was first introduced as a ‘solo-run’ by the author in 1989. The paper goes on to describe comprehensive changes affecting higher educational establishments in Ireland and, in particular, those changes currently taking root in Galway. One such change is the encouragement to introduce a variety of teaching and assessment methods, including PBL. From ‘solo-run’ towards accepted mainstream thinking—interesting times!