Conference Agenda

Project-based learning is a key format in engineering design education. However, many students face difficulties due to a lack of prior knowledge required for successful project participation. To address this issue, we developed e-learning content to support students during the self-study time in preparation for the project work. This paper presents an evaluation of the impact of the e-learning content when used alongside project-based activities. The results indicate increased student confidence in developing mechatronic systems and a positive effect on acquiring professional competencies.

Product teardowns are a common educational tool in engineering design courses, with many benefits such as hands-on experience and improved engineering knowledge acquisition. This exploratory study investigates the role of product teardown activities on students' engineering education, specifically focusing on technical knowledge acquisition among industrial design students. Results indicate the teardown caused a qualitative increase in students' understanding of product function, components, materials, and manufacturing processes.

Compliant mechanisms achieve motion through elastic deformation, yet their core ideas are rarely taught before digital tools. This paper presents a foundation-first, hands-on method using lattice structures to introduce compliant mechanism design. In a pilot workshop, students analysed how rigid-body mechanisms move and redesigned them as compliant via tactile exploration and paper-based sketches, producing clear conceptual outputs and reporting improved understanding and confidence. The results show the value of early experiential learning before progression to digital and automated tools.

A blended learning approach was introduced to extend guideline-based training from key users to the wider end-user community in order to implement a new CAD/PLM environment. By combining asynchronous self-study of guidelines with synchronous, trainer-led sessions, the programme fostered procedural understanding and consistent modelling practices, as well as learner engagement. The results demonstrate how scalable blended learning strategies can bridge the gap between industrial training and academic education.