Abstract:

The transition to Industry 5.0 presents HEI (Higher Education Institutions) with the challenge of redesigning learning environments to promote technological, methodological and social competences in an integrated manner. For business lectures in engineering education, this change requires a shift away from lecture-based teaching towards application-oriented and competence-based teaching formats that enable students to actively engage with complex real-world problems. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a laboratory-based course concept in business economics that aims to implement these educational principles in higher education. The laboratory-based course concept follows a structured, sequential format that combines self-directed group work, targeted theoretical input sessions and reflective presentations. For example, students analyse circular economy R-strategies of real companies using publicly available data and structured analytical frameworks. The didactic design is grounded in experiential learning principles and aligned with higher levels of cognitive processing, particularly the application level as described in Bloom’s Taxonomy. The central objective is to support the transfer of theoretical knowledge into practical business contexts and to foster transferable competences relevant for sustainable industrial development. The design and content of the concept were then evaluated using a qualitative, feedback-oriented approach based on open-ended questionnaires completed by all participating students. The results show a high level of overall satisfaction with the lab-based format, particularly with regard to autonomous group work, authentic case analysis and the interactive learning value of the final presentations. At the same time, the evaluation highlights the importance of carefully aligning theoretical input with self-directed analysis phases in order to improve coherence and perceived relevance. By providing a structured example of how laboratory-based teaching can translate competence-oriented educational frameworks into concrete lesson planning, this article contributes to the ongoing discussion about innovative course formats for business economics in engineering education.

Keywords:

Engineering Education, Business Economics, Competences, Lab-based Teaching.