Nepal, Bhutan and India face serious development challenges, compounded by shortage of workforce trained with modern pedagogical methods. Solving such challenges requires transdisciplinary engagement with societal partners. Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodologies provide an effective way to educate students in systems thinking and deal with complexity. But most technical Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in South Asia do not offer such PBL based courses. Educators are not trained in using PBL methods, especially to deal with complex development goals. In contrast, EU HEIs such as Aalto and TU Delft focus on university-wide efforts for global inclusive development. Through this project, the EU HEIs aim to develop a leading practice for global PBL projects. This project addresses a strategic bottleneck: preparing graduates for challenging work, holistic problem analysis and interdisciplinary knowledge creation in real settings. The two layers of cooperation include 1) training of faculty and the development of PBL methodologies, and 2) joint piloting of PBL cases involving student teams. The project will establish PBL into the curricula of partner HEIs in Nepal and Bhutan. The EU HEIs each take a specific role in the project: TUDelft with entrepreneurship education and online education, KTU with data gathering and monitoring of project results, and Aalto in overall project management and emphasis on global sustainability issues. IISc Bangalore and IIT Bombay will develop a regional network of PBL specialists and disseminate best practices through teacher training and policy influencing activities in India. All HEIs will contribute to the student case pilots. Dissemination will be carried out through publications, seminars, and creation of a regional PBL network in South Asia. After the end of the project, PBL courses will continue in all the ten participating HEIs.
Core objectives were: to develop PBL courses and materials that embed sustainable development themes as an educational approach especially in technical fields; to adapt educational content to fit intercultural and regional contexts in South Asia; to develop teaching competencies transitioning from traditional to student-led learning; and through these efforts to contribute to improved societal impact, innovation capacity, professional skills and student employability over time.
PBL South Asia is a co-creation project of HEIs in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Finland, Lithuania and the Netherlands, aimed at developing curricula and teaching competence on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) for global sustainability themes. The consortium consists of 10 HEIs, of which 6 developed curricula and all engaged in co-creation of educational contents, practice and intercultural engagement around PBL courses for undergraduate/graduate students.
<< Background >> PBL South Asia is a co-creation project of HEIs in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Finland, Lithuania and the Netherlands, aimed at developing curricula and teaching competence on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) for global sustainability themes. The consortium consists of 10 HEIs, of which 6 developed curricula and all engaged in co-creation of educational contents, practice and intercultural engagement around PBL courses for undergraduate/graduate students. << Objectives >> Core objectives were: to develop PBL courses and materials that embed sustainable development themes as an educational approach especially in technical fields; to adapt educational content to fit intercultural and regional contexts in South Asia; to develop teaching competencies transitioning from traditional to student-led learning; and through these efforts to contribute to improved societal impact, innovation capacity, professional skills and student employability over time. << Implementation >> The project was implemented as planned until Covid outbreak, subsequent activities were cancelled/reorganised.Implementation relied heavily on face-to-face action and was seriously affected by the epidemic. Activities were redesigned online and in the final phase travel was resumed. The mid-term report was submitted in August 2020 and feedback from EACEA received in March 2021. A 1-year extension was approved by EACEA in November 2021, extending the project duration to 14.11.2022. << Results >> Despite serious disruptions to project implementation by Covid, main results and overall impact were achieved. They include the introduction of PBL via adapted curricula in Nepal and Bhutan, best practices and teacher training development in India and Europe, a series of international and local student projects, significant institutional engagement and dissemination at consortium HEIs on PBL education, an international online course, follow-up projects and networks.