PROJECT-BASED PEDAGOGY FOR A NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

This paper presents considerations concerning developing professional and transversal competences by using an innovative learning methodology implemented in a master studies program from University Politehnica of Bucharest: project-based pedagogy for a new product development.
The entire scenario is based on a macro planning with well-defined milestones for a new product development, which should fit in the 3rd semester (out of four).

The students involved have a 4 years B.Sc. degree from different engineering major fields, providing a useful technical diversity, which allows the organization of project teams with complementary competences. Each team should pass through all main product development processes, starting with generating innovative ideas until developing the concept and even prototyping it.

Project development is overlapped and well synchronized with a series of 6 training modules which ensure a coherent training-path. The authors are academic staff, being trainers of these modules and they act as a coaching team, therefore they will bring a multi-view analysis regarding students learning and behavior progress during the project development taking into account several project working situations.

Another specific innovative approach is dual coaching, i.e. besides academic trainers were involved also external technical professionals to provide technical feedback for the idea validation and concept development processes.

Based on the experience of 4 generations of graduated students the authors will also present results of more than 16 projects.