Project-oriented Study and Project-organized Curricula: A Brief Review of Intentions and Solutions

SUMMARY Project orientation and project-organized curricula in higher education are attributed to a wide range of intentions causing different approaches and solutions concerning the structuring of curricula and of teaching/learning situations. The historical review describes briefly pedagogical and profession-oriented motivations as well as science and society-related aspects. In engineering education, the changing demands from industry and the profession—emphasizing skills instead of specialized content orientation—promote a rapid expansion of problem-centred project work and of active and productive learning. A shift from projects, integrated in the traditional subject structure of engineering curricula, towards project-organized curricula can be observed. To overcome obvious problems and constraints of the future implementation of projects in higher education staff and faculties will need to establish a continuous process of organizational development.