P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Kan anen, M.-S., & Pikka ainen, A. (2025). De elopmen
o p ojec - and wo k-li e skills in mul idisciplina y enginee ing s uden p ojec . 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.17631409.
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.
DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT- AND WORK-LIFE SKILLS IN
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING STUDENT PROJECT
M-S Kan anen a, A Pikka ainen b,
1
a Lapland Uni e si y o Applied Sciences, Kemi, Finland, 0009-0000-7047-3434
b Lapland Uni e si y o Applied Sciences, Kemi, Finland, 0000-0001-6551-4481
Con e ence Key A eas: Enginee ing skills p o essional skills, and ans e sal skills;
Cu iculum de elopmen and eme ging cu iculum models in enginee ing
Keywo ds: Enginee ing educa ion, mul idisciplina y lea ning, hyb id lea ning,
cu iculum, wo k-li e skills
ABSTRACT
Mode n enginee ing educa ion aces many challenges due o he apid de elopmen
o echnology and he g owing equi emen s o wo k-li e. I i is o ma ch he
demands, educa ion should con ain mul i- and in e disciplina y wo k-li e skills, as
well as gene al skills. Flexible cu iculum con en and eal-li e p ojec lea ning
p o ide an e icien way o o ganise such educa ion. The combina ion o hyb id
lea ning wi h p ac ical wo k p o ides s uden s wi h he eedom and mo i a ion hey
need o lea ning. This pape p esen s an example wi h s uden s’ pe spec i es o an
ongoing mul idisciplina y s uden p ojec in he Lapland Uni e si y o Applied
Sciences mechanical enginee ing deg ee p og amme. The p ojec combines skill-
and compe ence a eas om h ee di e en cou ses. This includes he a eas o
design and manu ac u ing skills as well as p ojec managemen wi h hyb id lea ning
and p ac ical labo a o y wo k. A ques ionnai e was a anged o map s uden s’
pe spec i es o he de elopmen o gene al and wo k-li e skills du ing he p ojec .
Such p ojec lea ning e ec i ely suppo ed he de elopmen o echnical skills and
wo k-li e compe encies. Fu he de elopmen is equi ed o make he p ojec
a angemen clea e and enhance mul idisciplina y lea ning. This pape implies ha
using lexible implemen a ion wi hin he cu iculum and connec ing cou ses in one
p ojec en i y can e icien ly suppo he de elopmen o s uden s’ p o essional and
gene al skills.
1
Co esponding Au ho
A Pikka ainen
a i.pikka ainen@lapinamk. i
1 INTRODUCTION
The equi emen s se by wo k-li e p esen new challenges o enginee ing educa ion.
Mode n enginee ing educa ion mus adjus o se e al di e en challenges such as
he apid de elopmen o echnology, he inc eased need o p ojec skills, and he
need o mul i- and in e disciplina y skills and o use o digi al ools, o men ion a ew.
Lea ning, knowledge and use o in elligence is connec ed wi h enginee ing educa ion
in a ious ways (Qiao & Fu, 2023). F om an educa ional pe spec i e, his indica es
he impo ance o lexible cu iculum con en and he combina ion o di e en
echnological a eas in a single lea ning en i y. One way o app oach his is o
combine indi idual cou ses so ha he cou ses can p o ide indi idual in o ma ion,
bu he opics o each suppo one ano he . In addi ion o adi ional enginee ing
subjec s, p o essional skills such as eamwo k, p oblem-sol ing, and p ojec
managemen skills ha e been iden i ied as impo an o enginee ing educa ion
(Chadham & Heng, 2024).
Wo king in he echnological ield equi es he abili y o upda e knowledge and skills
due o wo king li e’s con inuous change. Enginee s should mas e new a eas o
expe ise, and hey should ecognise he di e en ways o u ilise hei expe ise in
new si ua ions. The in eg a ion o wo k-li e skills and echnology hemes wi h
enginee ing educa ion is an impo an pa h o p ac ice-based lea ning (Amish, 2024).
Lakkala e al. (2023) shows ha including a eal-li e p ojec opic in highe educa ion
makes he lea ning o wo k-li e-based compe ences and p ac ices mo e e icien and
mo i a ional o s uden s. This was an impo an p emise o he p ojec p esen ed in
his pape . The de elopmen o echnologies has always had a s ong in luence on
job asks in he ield o enginee ing. Indus y 4.0 is he ou h indus ial e olu ion, in
which indus ial manu ac u ing and business models a e ans o med h ough
digi alisa ion and he adop ion o new echnologies. The Eu opean Commission has
in oduced he concep o Indus y 5.0, which aims o a sus ainable, human-cen ic,
and esilien Eu opean u u e. The emphasis is on he knowledge, skills, and abili ies
o wo ke s in collabo a ing wi h machines and obo s. In addi ion, he ocus is on he
lexibili y o he p oduc ion p ocesses and hei impac s (Eu opean Commission,
2021). Technological and digi al skills a e no he only skills ha will be ele an o
indus ial wo ke s. In u u e, c oss-disciplina y and gene ic skills, as well as a ious
digi al skills, will be necessa y. The mos impo an skills highligh ed include
c ea i i y and inno a ion, an en ep eneu ial mindse , adap i e and open-minded
hinking, ansdisciplina y leade ship, and communica ion skills (Wo ld Manu ac u ing
Founda ion, 2024). These skills should he e o e be implemen ed in enginee ing
educa ion when educa ing u u e expe s o wo k-li e.
The aim o his pape is o p esen an example o he impo ance o mul idisciplina y
lea ning in a s uden p ojec whe e p ojec and wo k-li e skills a e highligh ed. In
addi ion, his pape includes s uden s’ pe cep ions when lea ning gene al
p o essional and wo k-li e skills du ing a mul idisciplina y p ojec . The p ojec is
ongoing du ing he sp ing semes e o 2025, and his pape p esen s i s cu en
si ua ion and u u e de elopmen . The p ojec is pa o he mechanical enginee ing
deg ee p og amme in he Lapland Uni e si y o Applied Sciences (Lapland UAS) in
Finland, whe e he enginee ing deg ee consis s o 240 ECTS and eigh semes e s.
2 CONTEXT AND PRACTICAL WORK
The cu iculum is based on compe ence- and p oblem-based lea ning, and he
in e na ional CDIO amewo k o enginee ing educa ion is e lec ed in he o m o
compe ence de elopmen and s uden p ojec s. The s uden s a e ei he s udying ull-
ime o pa - ime alongside wo k and mos li e in Lapland and No he n
Os obo hnia. Lec u es o ull- ime s uden s a e held du ing he day; lec u es o
pa - ime s uden s a e usually held in he e ening because mos a e wo king du ing
he day. Pa - ime s uden s also ha e con ac days du ing he semes e whe e
manda o y labo a o y cou ses can ake place, o example.
Theo e ical lec u es o bo h ull- ime and pa - ime s uden s ha e been pa ly
modi ied in a hyb id o ma , whe e lec u es a e held on campus du ing he day. This
allows ull- ime s uden s o a end in pe son, while pa - ime s uden s can pa icipa e
ia Zoom. Lec u es a e eco ded so ha hey can also be lis ened o la e acco ding
o s uden s’ own ime ables. This combina ion o synch onous and asynch onous
lea ning p o ides eedom and esilience o s uden s (Tomo ic e al., 2024). S udies
ha e shown ha s uden s in di e en a eas o highe educa ion espond di e en ly o
hyb id lea ning. This kind o pedagogical me hodology can e ec i ely suppo
s uden s‘ mo i a ion and sa is ac ion in lea ning (K isna, 2024). A he same ime,
hyb id lea ning equi es di e en kinds o sel -guidance o s uden s, which can esul
in challenges in lea ning and a bigge wo kload (Li e al., 2023). Hyb id eaching and
lea ning o e s a lexible way o combine di e en aspec s o lea ning, bu i equi es
ca e ul planning o achie e success ul esul s (Ál a ez-Cha es & Sabo ío-Taylo ,
2025).
S uden s need o adop he me hod o hyb id lec u es du ing he day. I s uden s
canno pa icipa e in online lec u es, hey need o a ange ime o iew he
eco dings o he lec u es. This equi es he s uden s o ha e good ime
managemen skills and also independen app oach o s udying.
2.1 Implemen ing mul idisciplina y s uden p ojec
In he sp ing o 2025, he Lapland UAS mechanical enginee ing deg ee p og amme
launched a new mul idisciplina y p ojec called he “Wind u bine p ojec “ o second-
yea s uden s. The goal was o combine he implemen a ions o h ee sepa a e
cou ses in o a single p ojec . Figu e 1 p esen s he s uc u e o he p ojec .
Fig. 1. P ojec cou ses and hei lea ning ou comes
As Figu e 1 shows, he p ojec combines he skill a eas and lea ning ou comes o
h ee sepa a e cou ses. The opic o he p ojec is o design and implemen a
unc ional minia u e wind u bine s uc u e. Comp essed ai is di ec ed a he wind
u bine o simula e eal-li e wind condi ions and o p oduce elec ici y. The e is a o al
o six eache s in hese cou ses, and each cou se has an assigned esponsible
eache . The e a e ou eache s in he “P ojec Skills” cou se; wo o hem also each
in he “Indus ial P oduc ion and Ope a ional Main enance” cou se wi h he hi d
eache . The “Basics o 3D p in ing” cou se has only one eache . Fou o he
eache s a e p o essional eache s, one is a eache o Finnish language and
communica ion, and one is an English eache . This enables e sa ile compe ence
a eas in eaching. Theo e ical lec u es ha e been o ganised ia hyb id eaching on
he campus.
Each cou se has i s own assessmen c i e ia and Moodle en i onmen o sha ing
he ma e ials. Cou ses also ha e hei own labo a o y exe cises and assignmen s
which suppo he comple ion o a common p ojec . Mechanical enginee ing equi es
collabo a i e eaching, and i challenges eache s o be mo e like counsello s in he
s uden s’ lea ning p ocess. The eache s plan, check, guide, and assess he cou ses
oge he . P ojec eams consis o h ee o ou s uden s, and he s uden s selec
hei own eam membe s. P ojec wo k is ad anced du ing scheduled p ac ice
sessions a school, bu mos o he wo k mus be done in s uden s’ own ime. A he
beginning o he p ojec he s uden s mus ag ee how hey a e going o wo k as a
eam. This included he ag eemen o wo king me hods ( ime wo king oge he ) and
equipmen o he communica ion and ag eemen o he p ojec eam’s
esponsibili ies and oles. This emphasises he impo ance o p ojec managemen
skills. Many o he adul s uden s wo k in shi wo k and may ind i di icul o ind he
ime o wo k oge he . I is also impo an ha he p ojec eam ag ee he goal o he
cou se g ade oge he .
The “Wind u bine p ojec “ combines h ee cou ses and eaches s uden s o in eg a e
di e en subjec a eas. The p oblems o he wo k-li e a e o en complex, and i is
bene icial du ing s udies o p ac ise collabo a i ely how o sol e complica ed and
open-ended p oblems. S uden s o en ha e di e en skills, and i is impo an o
p ac ise in eg a ing hem o achie e he inal p ojec ou come. The demands o
enginee ing knowledge a e no only es ic ed o mechanical enginee ing: enginee s
need gene ic skills, including p oblem-sol ing, e alua ion and managemen skills,
and social, communica ion and language skills. Enginee s also need o know how o
combine hei own knowledge wi h ha o o he specialis s and i is necessa y o
p ac ice ha du ing he educa ion. These skills should he e o e be emphasised
du ing s udies.
2.2 Me hodology o mapping s uden s’ pe spec i es
A ques ionnai e was a anged o a a ge s uden g oup o second yea mechanical
enginee ing s uden s. The pu pose was o ecei e eedback on he implemen a ion o
a mul idisciplina y p ojec based on di e en ac o s. Ellis e al. (2024) s a e ha by
a anging a su ey o s uden s’ pe cep ions o in-pe son e sus online/hyb id cou ses,
eache s ecei e aluable inpu o a anging and de eloping educa ion. The
ques ionnai e con ained nume ical ques ions and a ee wo d sec ion. The nume ical
ques ions we e di ided in o se e al sec ions o mapping how he s uden pe cei ed
he impo ance o di e en ac o s du ing he p ojec , and how he s uden had
de eloped wo k-li e skills. The ac o s we e selec ed based on he cou se
compe ences and s a e-o - he-a esea ch ela ed o his pape . The ques ionnai e
mapped he de elopmen o gene al p o essional and wo k-li e skills du ing he p ojec .
The goal was o collec quan i a i e da a (on a scale 1 o 5, whe e 1 ep esen s he
“wo s ” op ion and 5 he “bes ”) o ga ne in o ma ion abou s uden s’ pe cep ions and
expe iences du ing he p ojec . This p o ides aluable in o ma ion o he deg ee
p og amme when de eloping simila mul idisciplina y p ojec s. This in o ma ion will
also be used in he p ojec ’s u he de elopmen . The ee wo d sec ion gi es he
s uden s he oppo uni y o exp ess hei eedback and hough s eely.
3 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
3.1 Teache s‘ obse a ions on he implemen a ion o a mul idisciplina y
p ojec
The implemen a ion o a mul idisciplina y p ojec equi es eache s o collabo a e
closely. Fi s , sui able cou ses wi h suppo i e skill a eas mus be disco e ed wi hin
he cu iculum. Second, he lea ning ou comes and skill a eas om each cou se
mus compile a sui able ensemble. This equi es join planning by he eache s, in
which he con en , semes e ime able, and cou se implemen a ion con e ge. Much
lexibili y is also equi ed when s a ing such a p ojec , as ci cums ances and
ime ables may a y. I is impo an ha he e is close coope a ion and openness
be ween eache s ega ding he implemen ed eaching con en . Teache s also need
o ese e ime o plan and a ange he implemen a ion o he cou ses and p ojec
be o e he semes e s a s. I is also impo an ha s uden s a e in o med su icien ly
clea ly abou ma e s ela ed o he implemen a ion o such cou se collabo a ion.
3.2 The esul s o he ques ionnai e
A ques ionnai e was a anged in he middle o he sp ing semes e o 2025 o
ecei e eedback on he implemen a ion o a mul idisciplina y p ojec . A o al o 33
esponses was collec ed (n=33), and 75% o he ull- ime s uden s and 59% o pa -
ime s uden s esponded. The ques ionnai e was implemen ed as a Web opol o m
du ing he “P ojec Skills” cou se lec u es, and he answe s we e collec ed
anonymously – only he s uden s’ s udy g oup in o ma ion was eques ed. The
ques ionnai e aimed o ga he in o ma ion abou he ongoing implemen a ion o he
cou ses and he p ojec up o ha poin , as well as o ecei e in o ma ion abou he
de elopmen o s uden s’ skills in bo h p o essional subjec s and wo k-li e. The inal
eedback will be collec ed a he end o he semes e . The s uden g oups will
p esen he esul s o hei p ojec on a special p ojec day a he end o Ap il 2025.
This day will be held as a s uden ai a which he g oups will p esen hei esul s,
and he audience can e alua e which g oup pe o med bes (by o ing). The e will
also be sepa a e echnical es ing o he designs o be included o de e mine which
g oup pe o med bes . These p ojec day o ing and es ing esul s a e no pa o he
common cou se e alua ion bu a e used o a ange a casual small compe i ion
be ween he g oups.
As Figu e 2 shows, he s uden s el hei gene al p o essional skills had de eloped
mos in echnical subjec s, such as applying 3D CAD and 3D p in ing ools, and design
and manu ac u ing expe ise. Knowledge o p ojec managemen , leade ship, and
a ious p ojec ools was also de eloped du ing he cou ses, mos ly ei he e y much
o a lo . Some s uden s el hei knowledge o o ac ion in sus ainabili y and
esponsibili y and g oup wo king skills had no imp o ed as much du ing he cou ses
and p ojec wo k. In u u e, mo e a en ion should be paid no only o he
implemen a ion o hese aspec s bu o inc easing s uden s’ unde s anding o he
collabo a ion be ween he h ee cou ses. In addi ion, he in eg a ion o heo y and
p ac ice, as well as he combina ion o knowledge om di e en cou ses, should be
u he de eloped.
Fig. 2. S uden s‘ e alua ion o hei gene al p o essional skills de elopmen du ing he
p ojec .
The s uden s also e alua ed how hei gene al wo k-li e skills de eloped du ing he
p ojec wo k. As Figu e 3 shows, c ea i i y, p oblem-sol ing, communica ion, and
in e ac ion, along wi h leade ship skills we e mos ly de eloped. Se e al s uden s
also said ha c i ical hinking had also de eloped qui e well. A he ime o he
w i ing, he s uden s ha e no s a ed epo ing on hei p ojec wo k, and he epo s
om he labo a o y wo k a e ongoing, which may explain why he s uden s el ha
hei w i ing and English skills had de eloped less so a .
Fig. 3. S uden s‘ e alua ion o hei de elopmen o he gene al wo k-li e skills du ing he
p ojec .
In addi ion, ee wo d eedback was eques ed om he s uden s. Mos o he
commen s indica e ha i is a good way o combine di e en cou ses and make one
la ge p ojec wo k du ing he semes e , in which s uden s can unde ake a ious asks
and hands-on wo k. I should also be no ed ha he a ious asks and cou se
equi emen s should be cla i ied a he beginning o he cou ses. Fo example, in
u u e, eache s should o e diag ams, cha s, and ideos o cla i y he asks and he
combina ion o he cou ses.
“In gene al, i is e ec i e and easonable o in eg a e h ee cou ses. This p e en s unnecessa y designing o p in ing o pa s ha
canno be u ilised in he p ojec . The Moodle en i onmen is somewha con using – would i be possible o c ea e a single 15-
c edi cou se ins ead, so ha e e y hing could be o ganised in one wo kspace in Moodle?”
“A g ea and in e es ing p ojec . A i s , he e was qui e a bi o unce ain y and con usion, bu hings ha e become clea e as
he p ojec has p og essed. The e´s a lo o wo k, which is o be expec ed. A well-designed o e all s uc u e, whe e g oups
ha e been gi en he eedom o manage he p ojec wi hin hei own schedule, while ce ain amewo ks and deadlines s ill
guide he p ocess in he backg ound. Mo e o his kind o p ojec !”
“An in e es ing p ojec and enjoyable o wo k in g oups, as i helps de elop eamwo k skills. I was some imes di icul o
unde s and how o do some hings, bu we managed o igu e i ou .”
4 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
The cu iculum o he Lapland UAS mechanical enginee ing deg ee p og amme was
e o med, and he new e sion commenced in he au umn o 2023. A new
mul idisciplina y p ojec called he “Wind u bine p ojec “ was launched in he sp ing
o 2025 o he second-yea s uden s. The goal was o combine he implemen a ions
o h ee sepa a e cou ses, o ming a single p ojec . This is he i s ime his p ojec
has been o ganised and i was a new expe ience o he s uden s o combine hei
knowledge om he di e en cou ses. The p ojec ’s s uden s consis ed bo h o ull-
ime and pa - ime s uden s. Hyb id lec u es abou he heo e ical subjec s we e
o ganised du ing he day on campus and some o he pa - ime s uden s pa icipa ed
in-si u in a Zoom class oom. Mos o he pa - ime s uden s wa ched he Zoom
eco ding a e wa ds. Such a se ing p o ides mo e ime o he p ojec s’ p ac ise,
labo a o ies, and eamwo k, bu i also equi es he s uden s o ha e mo e ime
managemen skills.
The de elopmen o s uden s‘ wo k-li e skills is impo an o p epa e hem be e o
u u e employmen . Mode n enginee ing educa ion aces new kinds o challenges in
which he as pace o echnological de elopmen in companies and in indus y
places educa ional de elopmen wo k unde p essu e. T adi ional enginee ing
deg ee educa ion in Finland has a ixed ou -yea pe iod, and such challenges also
equi e he cu iculum o be lexible. This pape shows ha such lexibili y mus
appea a he implemen a ion le el o cou ses. The de elopmen o he Wind u bine
p ojec shows ha wi h ca e ul planning and eache coope a ion, such changes a e
possible.
Fo u u e de elopmen he ecei ed s uden eedback will be used when planning
nex yea ’s p ojec . The mos no able equi ed ac ions a e mos ly p ac ical. Upda ing
he p ojec ask ins uc ions is impo an because lexibili y o changes was equi ed
du ing he p ojec . As he h ee cou ses we e sepa a e implemen a ions, connec ing
he cou se a angemen s be e and he ma e ial o he h ee cou ses on one Moodle
pla o m would make he p ojec clea e o s uden s. Al hough he eache s
discussed he e alua ion oge he , a common e alua ion sys em o he h ee
cou ses migh be e emphasise he mul idisciplina y implemen a ion.
The expe ience gained om he p ojec shows ha mul idisciplina y lea ning
e ec i ely suppo s enginee ing educa ion. S uden s’ gene al and wo k-li e skills
imp o ed hei p o essional expe ise, enabling be e employmen oppo uni ies a e
g adua ion.
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