Effects of the CDIO curriculum on engineering students’ experiences of their study environment

The focus of this paper will be engineering students’ experiences of their 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of their program. In 1999 the implementation of the CDIO curriculum started and in 2002 the first project based course, which was compliant with the CDIO philosophy, was introduced during the 1st and 3rd study year. Results are based on responses from three questionnaires given to all registered students, in all four cohorts, in the beginning of their 3rd, 4th and 5th year. In total, 664 questionnaire answers were received. In this study, the focus is on the following areas: (1) satisfaction with study results; (2) estimated work and perceived workload; (3) aspects of study related health; and (4) influence and cooperation with teachers and peer students. Comparisons are made within cohorts over time and between cohorts with regard to students’ self reported experiences in these areas. Results indicated that there were significant differences in some of the areas between cohorts that had not studied in a project-based approach and students who had done so. As the 1998 and 1999 cohorts did not followed the CDIO curriculum whereas the 2000 and 2002 cohorts did, differences between the cohorts in various areas can be related to the implementation of the CDIO curriculum