CHALLENGES IN TEACHING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT USING INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS- EXPERIENCES FROM LINNAEUS UNIVERSITY

In the presented paper the authors expose their experience with caring out a course Systematic Approach to the Product Development, at Linnaeus University.
Product Development is a process based on number of techniques and methods applied in correct order to achieve the best result in design and innovation tasks. For a successful product development in a present competitive market interdisciplinary skills are required.
The mission of the course is to prepare future leaders in new products´ engineering and management. Teaching such abstract subject, where at every step decision making in aesthetic, engineering and economic issues is required, is a real challenge for the course instructors.
The participating students must understand the theory given in the lectures at same time as they should apply it in development of different type of products. The fundament in this course is a project, about real products, from the industry.
Students from different background- Mechanical Engineering and Business Engineering program students and exchange students from eight different countries were participating in the course. They were divided in groups of four persons, and every three groups were competed each other solving the same problem. The project finishes with a concept design, based on an identified customer needs, concept generation, developed product architecture, and project management.