Outreach - from primary school through secondary education to continuing education – problem-based learning in life-long learning

Problem: How can we make engineering education more attractive and how can we engage alumni and others in life-long learning?

Purpose: First, to investigate how engineering can be more attractive to primary and secondary pupils. Especially through out-of-school learning organised in co-operation between actors, in- and outside the school (primary and secondary schools, companies, University Colleges, universities) to meet the pupils interest by giving them possibilities to learn “in the real world” in a problem based way.
This also involves out-of-school time projects in mathematics, science, and engineering for primary and secondary education level aimed at creating interest and learning for children.
Second, to investigate how Lifelong Learning can be attractive to Alumni.

Before engineering education
Primary school. Questions: Primary schools and their ability to stir interest in PBL and EE, Bildungslandschaften, Pupil’s University, Universitarium.
Questions: Out of school activities and their ability to create interest in PBL and EE?
Secondary school. In a Danish context admission to engineering school requires an exam from a high school. The question here is: do the high schools equip the students with competences necessary for PBL EE?

During engineering education
Engineering students in internship arrangements. Question: what do they learn – that they could not have learned inside the engineering school?

After engineering education
Alumni. What did PBL EE do for the engineer? Question: What did you learn at engineering school and is it useful to you in your present engineering job?

Companies. Is PBL EE at all relevant in continuing education in existing companies and to their build-up of new knowledge and new competences.

How do we study it?
Interviews with key-actors in different and relevant settings and collection of all relevant materials. Development of the concept ‘Bildungslandschaft’ into a scientific concept, describing outreach activities and the role of PBL in all instances mentioned above.