P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Wang, Z., Balde , J. C., Upadhyay, A., & S a k, R. (2025).
In e disciplina y P ojec -Based Lea ning - A Teaching S udy on Modi ying a
Wheeled Walke . In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B.
(Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing
Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631284.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
In e disciplina y P ojec -Based Lea ning - A Teaching S udy on
Modi ying a Wheeled Walke
Z. Wang a,
1
, J. Balde b, A. Upadhyay c,
R. S a k d
a Technische Uni e si ä Be lin, Chai o Indus ial In o ma ion Technology
Be lin, Ge many, 0009-0009-6822-870X
b Technische Uni e si ä Be lin, Chai o Indus ial In o ma ion Technology
Be lin, Ge many, 0000-0001-9392-3944
c Technische Uni e si ä Be lin, Chai o Indus ial In o ma ion Technology
Be lin, Ge many, 0009-0006-1817-7914
d Technische Uni e si ä Be lin, Chai o Indus ial In o ma ion Technology
Be lin, Ge many, 0000-0002-2599-0130
Con e ence Key A eas: Enginee ing skills, p o essional skills, and ans e sal skills;
Building he capaci y and s eng hening he educa ional compe ences o enginee ing
educa o s
Keywo ds: In e disciplina y PBL, Collabo a i e Enginee ing, P oduc De elopmen
ABSTRACT
This pape p esen s a eaching s udy o a p ojec -based lea ning (PBL) cou se ha
connec s wo dis inc lec u e cou ses in he con ex o p oduc de elopmen (PD):
class A - Applica ions o Indus ial In o ma ion Technology (AIIT) and class B -
De elopmen and Managemen o Digi al P oduc C ea ion P ocesses (EMP). Bo h
cou ses include he p ojec o modi ica ion o a wheeled walke , wi h s uden s
o ganised in o h ee in e disciplina y g oups. Each g oup is esponsible o
de eloping one ou o h ee echnical subsys ems, which a e au oma ic heigh
adjus men , medical supe ision, and cu b nego ia ion. The g oups p og ess h ough
a ious phases om idea ion and concep ual solu ions o i ual p o o yping, o
physical p o o yping, and o inal epo . By showcasing he c i ical deli e ables
p oduced a each phase o he p ojec , his pape analyses hem om an educa o 's
pe spec i e o ex ac key lessons lea ned. The insigh s and ecommenda ions
p esen ed he ein aim o o e p ac ical guidance o educa o s who a e in e es ed in
1
Co esponding Au ho
Z. Wang
z.wang@ u-be lin.de
implemen simila cou ses, he eby con ibu ing o he ad ancemen o pedagogical
p ac ices in enginee ing educa ion.
1 INTRODUCTION
In ecen yea s, enginee ing educa ion has inc easingly emb aced PBL as a means
o deepening s uden s' unde s anding o heo e ical concep s h ough p ac ical
applica ion. Mos exis ing PBL ini ia i es a e ocused on a single discipline wi h
p ojec cons ain s, he eby os e ing in-dep h subjec -speci ic compe ence (Kolmos
e al., 2024). Only 14 ou o 40 p ojec s in he mechanical enginee ing p og amme a
he TU Be lin a e in e disciplina y, in ol ing mul iple enginee ing disciplines (Moses,
n.d.). This p opo ion unde sco es he sca ci y o p ojec cou ses ha in eg a e
di e se enginee ing disciplines. Such c oss-disciplina y PBL cou ses no only allow
s uden s o p og ess wi hin hei own discipline bu also equip hem wi h he skills
necessa y o e ec i e collabo a ion and communica ion ac oss di e en domains.
This pape p esen s a de ailed eaching case o a PBL cou se ha combines wo
dis inc lec u es, AIIT and EMP, in he con ex o modi ying a wheeled walke o
suppo elde ly people in in eg a ing in o socie y. The p ima y aim o his pape is o
explain and analyse he key deli e ables gene a ed a each phase o he p ojec .
The pape begins by placing he wo k in he con ex o PBL and enginee ing
educa ion and in oduce he p ojec and i s me hodology in Chap e 2. Chap e 3
p esen s he pa ial esul s o he p ojec , and he aluable lessons lea ned, while
Chap e 4 o e s p ac ical ecommenda ions o educa o s who wish o implemen
simila in e disciplina y PBL ini ia i es.
2 CONTEXT AND PRACTICAL WORK
2.1 Con ex o P ojec -Based Lea ning and Enginee ing Educa ion
PBL cou ses a e essen ial o enginee ing educa ion as hey combine heo e ical
knowledge wi h p ac ical applica ion (F ank e al., 2003) and each s uden s aluable
so skills such as communica ion and p ojec managemen . By wo king in
he e ogeneous eams, hey lea n in e disciplina y hinking, which is essen ial in
mode n enginee ing p o essions. A he same ime, he s uc u ed eedback in he
design e iews (DRs) s eng hens he abili y o c i ical e lec ion and con inuous
imp o emen - a co e aspec o bo h PBL and enginee ing p ac ice. O e all, he
p ojec op imally p epa es s uden s o he complexi y o eal de elopmen p ojec s
and p omo es a p ac ical, esea ch-o ien a ed enginee ing educa ion.
2.2 P ojec Desc ip ion
The p ojec is planned e e y win e semes e and open o all mas e ’s s uden s bu
mainly o hose wi h enginee ing backg ound, ypically in hei i s yea o he
p og amme. I in i es s uden s o engage in an indus y-o ien ed challenge. This
p ojec encompasses he en i e PD cycle, s a ing om he concep ualiza ion phase
and p og essing h ough digi al modelling o he ealiza ion o a unc ional p o o ype.
The p ima y objec i e is o empowe s uden s o execu e complex p ojec asks in a
esou ce-e icien and goal-o ien ed manne while simula ing he dynamics o a s a -
up en i onmen , he eby deepening hei unde s anding o ma ke dynamics,
s akeholde engagemen , and business model de elopmen .
2.3 Me hodical App oach
The modules we e supplemen ed by speci ic lec u es ha con eyed bo h heo e ical
and p ac ical con en , while accompanying p ac ical semina s p o ided s uden s wi h
speci ic me hodological and echnical skills o he ealiza ion o hei p ojec s. The
examina ion comp ises a ious deli e ables, wo DRs as in e im assessmen s and a
inal p esen a ion o he p ojec esul s, which simula e a eal PD p ocess. The
ele ance and e ec i eness o me hodical suppo such as semina s and
deli e ables ( iew able 1 and 2) we e esea ched in p e ious s udies by Balde &
S a k, 2024, Hagedo n e al., 2023, Pe e s e al., 2021 and Mö ike e al., 2021. The
lec u e s a e also a ailable o indi idual counselling.
Table 1. O e iew o deli e ables o AIIT
The semes e is di ided in o ou phases ( iew Fig. 1), which a e s uc u ed by he
wo DRs and he inal p esen a ion. In he i s phase (idea and concep c ea ion), he
eams de elop c ea i e solu ions and c ea e concep s o hei p ojec s. This
includes he de elopmen o a p ojec plan wi h ask alloca ion, he de elopmen o a
co-ope a ion concep wi h o he eams as well as he c ea ion o a lis o
equi emen s and an ini ial sys em design. In he second phase (design), he
concep s a e ans o med in o conc e e designs using CAD modelling and o he
me hods. This in ol es upda ing he p ojec plan, c ea ing Business P ocess
Modelling (BPM) p ocesses and a sus ainable epo . Each eam is p o ided wi h a
budge o 100 Eu o, which is used o p ocu e pa s necessa y o cons uc ing he
physical p o o ypes. The hi d phase (p o o yping and alida ion) ocuses on he
ealisa ion and alida ion o he de eloped designs. The eams build and es
physical p o o ypes, c ea e a p oduc olde and wo k on a join CAD model. In
addi ion, he knowledge gained is documen ed and checked again o sus ainabili y
aspec s. This is ollowed by he ou h phase ( e lec ion), in which he eams analyse
hei wo k and summa ise i in a inal epo .
Fig. 1. S uc u e o he semes e p ojec
The wo DRs a e s a egically in eg a ed in o he de elopmen p ocess and se e as
miles ones o p esen ing p og ess, ecei ing cons uc i e eedback and u he
de eloping hei own app oaches.
Lead
Phase
Deli e able
AIIT
1
Solu ion Concep s
AIIT
1
Requi emen lis ( empla e)
AIIT
1
Sys em design diag ams
AIIT
2
Bill o ma e ials ( empla e)
AIIT
2
CAD model o he indi idual componen s and assembly model
wi h manu ac u ing in o ma ion
AIIT
3
Join physical p o o ype
AIIT
3
Bill o ma e ials o physical p o o ype ( empla e)
AIIT
3
Usage Concep
AIIT
3
Join CAD assembly model
3 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
In win e semes e 2024/2025, s uden s a e p esen ed wi h se en sys em op ions o
explo e, each add essing a speci ic unc ional equi emen . The op ions cu b
nego ia ion (G1), au oma ic heigh adjus men (G2), and medical supe ision (G3)
we e subsequen ly selec ed by he s uden s, leading o he o ma ion o h ee p ojec
g oups, each composed o eigh s uden s.
Table 2. O e iew o deli e ables o EMP
Al hough all g oups we e gi en iden ical ini ial ins uc ions and gene al objec i es,
he a ied p o essional backg ounds and skills composi ion wi hin each eam
esul ed in dis inc deli e ables. This chap e p esen s selec ed examples o hese
deli e ables, highligh ing no iceable di e ences be ween he g oups, pa icula ly in
e ms o hei echnical solu ions and me hodological app oaches. F om an
educa ional pe spec i e, each phase o he p ojec was analysed by ins uc o s, wi h
co esponding s uc u ed eedback o he s uden s p o ided.
3.1 Phase 1 – Idea and Concep C ea ion
Du ing Phase 1, AIIT s uden s we e asked wi h
de eloping solu ion concep s o hei espec i e
sys ems. As depic ed in Fig. 2, G1 p oposed a solu ion
in ol ing a linea auxilia y wheel mechanism designed
o ele a e he walke su icien ly o o e come cu bs.
Thei concep was illus a ed wi h simple schema ic
diag ams bu lacking de ailed echnical explana ions,
pa icula ly ega ding sys em unc ionali y and
implemen a ion speci ics.
Fig. 3 illus a es ha G2 p o ided a
de ailed isualisa ion, clea ly
communica ing he unc ional
implemen a ion p ocess and
me iculously anno a ing he newly
in eg a ed componen s and hei oles
wi hin he sys em. The concep o G3
ocused on delinea ing he in e ac ions
among di e en use g oups o
Lead
Phase
Deli e able
EMP
1
P ojec plan wi h ask dis ibu ion, esou ce alloca ion and ool lis
EMP
1
Collabo a ion concep
EMP
1
Can as Business Plan ( empla e)
EMP
2
P ojec Plan Upda e
EMP
2
Ope a ionalisa ion o he abili y o collabo a e
EMP
2
Wo king in digi al ans o ma ion
EMP
2
BPM
EMP
3
P ojec Plan Upda e
EMP
3
Lessons lea ned on he eamwo k and collabo a ion
EMP
3
P oduc Map
EMP
3
Final Cos O e iew
EMP
4
Final Repo
Fig. 2. Concep o G1
Fig. 3. Concep o G2
showcase hei o e all idea. As
depic ed in Fig. 4, he sys em
moni o s he heal h o a ious use
coho s and ansmi s his in o ma ion
o doc o s, ca egi e s, and hospi als.
Howe e , he concep emained
p edominan ly high-le el and lacked a
de ailed ocus on he p oduc 's
angible aspec s. In a so wa e-
o ien ed app oach o medical
supe ision, s uden s ound i
challenging o iden i y a clea en y
poin o e ec i ely in oducing hei
sys em's unc ionali y. Consequen ly,
he in ui i e ha dwa e elemen s,
which a e essen ial o g ounding he
concep in eali y, we e no su icien ly add essed. To enhance cla i y and impac , i
is ecommended ha so wa e-cen ic p ojec s inco po a e mo e illus a i e ha dwa e
componen s ha can conc e ely suppo and communica e he p oposed solu ion.
One o he deli e ables o EMP s uden s was he p ojec planning. The assignmen
speci ica ions equi ed ha his deli e able include, bu no be limi ed o, componen s
such as he p ojec objec i e, wo k packages, compe i i e analysis, and esou ce
planning. The ask no only necessi a ed he de elopmen o gene al p ojec
managemen elemen s bu also encou aged s uden s o engage in di e gen hinking
and ailo he plan o hei indi idual p ojec hemes. In he absence o conc e e
guidelines, each g oup submi ed hei p ojec plans in di e en o ma s. G1 and G2
p oduced sepa a e iles o each componen , whe eas G3 consolida ed all
componen s in o a single documen . Al hough his app oach g an ed conside able
c ea i e eedom, i also led o unce ain y ega ding expec a ions and inc eased he
complexi y o he g ading p ocess. While p o iding explici guidelines could esol e
hese issues, i migh also cons ain s uden s o con en ional amewo ks, he eby
limi ing hei inno a i e hinking. In addi ion, each g oup inco po a ed a p ojec
mission in hei submission. G2 u he enhanced hei deli e able by including a
eam skill ma ix and cos planning. No ably, wi h espec o he p ojec objec i e,
only G1 add essed all i e aspec s o he SMART c i e ia. These key c i e ia o he
p ojec planning can se e as one o he e alua ions.
3.2 Phase 2 – Design
In Phase 2, each g oup was p o ided wi h a dedica ed
olde con aining a basic CAD model as a s a ing poin
in Fusion 360 by Au odesk. Using his ounda ional
model o a walke and building upon he concep ual
ideas de eloped in Phase 1, s uden s p oceeded o
c ea e i ual p o o ypes o hei espec i e subsys ems.
Fig. 5 illus a es he design o G1, showcasing he
con olle on he handle and linea ac ua o . These
designs we e in ended o minimize addi ional p oduc
space. Howe e , de iciencies emain in e ms o p oduc
easibili y and le el o de ail. Fo example, he linea
ac ua o obs uc s he d illed ape u e, he eby educing
Fig. 4. Solu ion Concep o G3
Fig. 5. CAD model o G1
Fig. 8. CAD Model o G3
Fig. 7. S ess Simula ion o G2
he a ailable space o he clamp ins alla ion on he auxilia y wheel. Fu he mo e, he
moun ing o he con olle lacks he app op ia e connec ing ha dwa e, and he design
also does no include a de ined layou o he con olle ’s wi ing.
G2 selec ed he same model o linea ac ua o as G1 and sha ed he con olle
be ween he wo sys ems. As shown in Fig. 6, hei CAD model demons a es a mo e
comp ehensi e conside a ion o key design elemen s, including he in eg a ion o
cables, sc ews, and o he necessa y componen s. Addi ionally, G2 conduc ed
simula ions o analyse he de o ma ion and s ess dis ibu ion o he handle du ing
ope a ion (see Fig. 7). G3 e ined and conc e ised hei sys em design. As illus a ed
in Fig. 8, hey de eloped a new handle. This i ual model p o ided a mo e di ec
and angible ep esen a ion o hei concep , wi h he pulse oxime e and s a us LED
speci ically demons a ing a de ailed implemen a ion o he elec onic componen s.
Howe e , like G1, hei i ual p o o ype did no e ec i ely con ey he concep o
assembly, lea ing ce ain aspec s o he moun ing and in eg a ion p ocess
insu icien ly de ailed.
In summa y, AIIT s uden s ep esen s a c i ical s age in ealising he solu ion ideas.
F om an educa ional pe spec i e, i is impe a i e o balance inno a i e design wi h
p ac ical implemen a ion. This app oach enhances he easibili y o cons uc ing
physical p o o ypes in he subsequen phase while minimising unnecessa y ewo k.
To his end, educa o s should p o ide explici guidance on i e a i e p o o ype
e inemen and he e ec i e in eg a ion o simula ion ools.
A c i ical ask o EMP s uden s in his phase was o c ea e a BPM p ocess o he PD.
This equi ed s uden s o ou line he ac i i ies in ol ed in he de elopmen p ocess
and he co esponding quali y ga es. To e lec he eal-wo ld scena ios, a speci ic
numbe o ac i i ies o ga es was no p o ided. Consequen ly, s uden s o en in-
qui ed abou he app op ia e le el o de ail bu he e is no de ini i e answe , as BPM
Fig. 6. CAD Model o G2
does no adhe e o a s anda d le el o de ail in ac ual PD. Ins ead, he emphasis
should be on he comple eness and logical cohe ence o he BPM P ocess. Fo ex-
ample, in Fig. 9, G2 ended hei p ocess immedia ely a e he cons uc ion phase,
neglec ing he po en ial need o i e a i e adjus men s in case he cons uc ion e-
qui ed modi ica ions. This o e sigh , which was also obse ed in o he g oups, illus-
a es a common misconcep ion o PD as a linea p ocess a he han one cha ac e -
ised by con inuous eedback loops - a seemingly mino ac i i y ha none heless has
signi ican implica ions o he success o PD.
3.3 Phase 3 – P o o yping and Valida ion
This phase p ima ily ocuses on he c ea ion o a uni ied i ual p o o ype as well as
he de elopmen o he physical p o o ype. Fi s , a comple e i ual p o o ype
including all subsys ems had o be deli e ed o enable he s uden s o see
o e lapping and cons uc ion e o s in hei join p o o ype.
Fo he physical p o o ype, G1 p epa ed a es ack o simula e a cu b as shown on
Fig. 10 ( a igh ) and success ully ele a ed he walke o a ixed heigh using a
supplemen a y wheel. G2 ins alled he linea ac ua o di ec ly in on o he handle
adjus men le e and connec ed he wo componen s. The A duino-con olled
ac ua o enables bo h manual and au oma ic heigh adjus men s, complemen ed by
LED and audio eedback o enhanced usabili y. G3 in eg a ed he Raspbe y Pi (as
shown in Fig. 10, middle-le ) wi h he pulse oxime y, manual eme gency bu on
componen s and s ep acking (as depic ed in Fig 10, a le ), he eby enabling eal-
ime eme gency ale s wi h loca ion ia an In e ne o Things (IoT) pla o m (Fig. 10
middle- igh ). Compa ed wi h he i ual p o o ype, hei physical ealisa ion closely
mi o ed he i ual p o o ype in bo h appea ance and unc ionali y, as demons a ed
by he success ul alida ion o ea u es such as pulse oxime y, a s a us LED, and an
eme gency bu on wi h in eg a ed posi ion indica ion (see Fig. 10, igh ).
O e all, each g oup success ully demons a ed he unc ionali y o hei design
du ing he inal p esen a ion. None heless, he incomple e o de lis necessi a ed
addi ional p ocu emen cycles, which in u n p olonged he ins alla ion imeline.
Fig. 9. BPM o G2
Fig. 10. Physical P o o ype
Fu he mo e, gi en ha hese subsys ems inco po a e elec ical componen s, i is
ad isable o ins uc o s o be well- e sed in elec ical sa e y p o ocols and o ensu e
ha he use o elec ical equipmen (e.g., powe supplies) occu s unde app op ia e
supe ision o main ain a secu e wo king en i onmen .
In addi ion, s uden s equi e adequa e wo kspace o he mechanical ab ica ion
p ocesses o he p o o ypes. I is ecommended ha educa o s coo dina e wi h
wo kshops in ad ance o p o ide dedica ed acili ies o make ac i i ies such as
d illing, milling, cu ing, and joining (e.g., welding and solde ing) e ec i e and sa e.
3.4 Phase 4 – Re lec ion
In he ou h phase, s uden s we e equi ed o comple e he inal epo wi hin a
p esc ibed componen . Wi h no page limi imposed, each g oup submi ed a
comp ehensi e epo o 40 o 60 pages ha ho oughly e iewed he en i e p ojec .
G1 placed a g ea e emphasis on mechanical s uc u e op imisa ion and p ac ical
unc ional alida ion, ensu ing p oduc sa e y and du abili y h ough sys ema ic
design and es ing, and add essing echnical challenges ia e ec i e eam
collabo a ion. G2 ocused p ima ily on he inno a i e implemen a ion echnology and
use expe ience op imisa ion, demons a ing hei echnical ad an ages h ough
digi al ools and i e a i e p o o yping. Meanwhile, G3 concen a ed on IoT in eg a ion,
unde pinned by a comp ehensi e digi al de elopmen p ocess and igo ous ma ke
egula ion analysis. These a ied epo emphases indica e ha di e en g oups
alloca ed dis inc amoun s o ime and in e es o speci ic aspec s o he p ojec ,
e ealing he a eas hey ound mos engaging.
4 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Building on he p e ious s udies (e.g., Balde & S a k, 2024; Hagedo n e al., 2023)
ha ha e al eady elabo a ed he heo e ical PBL amewo k and analyzed s uden s’
eedback in dep h, his a icle p esen s a eaching s udy o c oss-disciplina y PBL in
a PD cou se, connec ing p ojec managemen and echnical enginee ing. In his use
case, h ee g oups o s uden s we e esponsible o he de elopmen o dis inc
subsys ems - cu b nego ia ion, au oma ic heigh adjus men , and medical
supe ision - p og essing om idea ion h ough design o he c ea ion o physical
p o o ypes. By showcasing and analysing he deli e ables om each o he h ee
phases, his s udy o e s aluable insigh s and ecommenda ions o simila c oss-
disciplina y PBL ini ia i es wi hin enginee ing educa ion.
O ganisa ionally, i is ecommended ha s uden s om he AIIT p og amme
cons i u e a leas 70% o each g oup. Ideally, each g oup should include In o ma ion
Technology s uden , Mechanical Enginee ing s uden s, and Elec onics s uden s,
wi h he EMP coho ideally comp ising wo o h ee s uden s wi h a managemen
specialisa ion. No ably, disc epancies in expec a ions be ween EMP and AIIT
s uden s can lead o in e -g oup con lic s, pa icula ly when hei pe cep ions o he
cou se di e ge signi ican ly. Fu he mo e, p o iding s uden s wi h ully equipped and
sa e wo kshop en i onmen s is c ucial o suppo ing he hands-on aspec s o PD.
Open asks, which os e s uden ’s au onomous lea ning and di e se hinking, may
also lead o a ia ions in he dep h and o ma o deli e ables, he eby complica ing
he e alua ion p ocess. Consequen ly, ins uc o s should ca e ully de ine and
conside gene al assessmen c i e ia o each ask. Finally, o ensu e ha p ope and
p o essional suppo is p o ided o all domains, expe s o hese domains should be
a ailable o s uden s as well as eache s, as eache s canno be conside ed expe s
in all equi ed ields.
