Achieving target skills in increments using PBL courses in chemical engineering program at RMIT University

Graduating Chemical Engineering students are expected to have acquired a number of technical and generic skills that include design, project management, communication and team work. In the new Chemical Engineering program at RMIT University, students are offered opportunities to develop these skills in stages through project-based learning (PBL) courses. Each semester has a PBL course which integrates horizontally the scientific and engineering concepts taught in other courses in that semester. The PBL courses in senior years, however, aim to achieve not only the horizontal integration of concepts from that semester but also vertical integration of concepts taught in previous years. In all PBL courses (eight in total), the development of generic skills is given equal opportunity. However the development of design skills are achieved in stages and it occurs mainly in six of the PBL courses. This incremental progression of design skill development prepares the students to face the final year capstone design project with confidence and excitement. The high satisfaction level in the design project as indicated by a high good teaching score (GTS) of 82% in 2008 shows that the progressive development of technical and generic skills using PBL courses is an effective means of preparing work-ready graduates.