Project Squared [best practice for electrical/electronic engineering education]

The aim of Project Squared is to collect, collate and disseminate best practice from within the consortium and across the sector in the development, delivery and assessment of Project Work as a core learning and teaching method in electrical and electronic engineering and as a principal way of delivering career exploitable skills. To date some 20 Universities have been visited and the process of mapping their experiences has been initiated. In addition a series of workshops on topics such as 'assessment', 'student support' and 'learning outcomes' has begun in cooperation with a concurrent project PBLE to disseminate the experiences of practitioners and to encourage discussion within the higher education sector. A study of the approaches to operating projects outside the host institution, referred to as 'virtual projects' has begun and a pilot programme instituted within the consortium. The impending introduction of student profiles is of interest to the whole of the HE sector and the role of the project process in their production is to be investigated, an initial stage of this will be the pilot to be introduced at Bradford in the next academic session. The outcomes will be piloted in the consortium and volunteer institutions and disseminated across the sector through the production of a Handbook of Good Practice, a website, publications, university and regional seminars and national colloquia involving industry and the Institution of Electrical Engineers.