A Hybrid Interdisciplinary Mechatronics Engineering Course Using Content-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning

This paper presents and discusses the implementation of a mechatronic engineering course with an interdisciplinary model using both content-based and project-based learning. The work involved a team of more than 20 teachers from different disciplines. The main skills and knowledge that a mechatronic engineer should acquire during the course were listed and then graded in terms of the projects for each semester. A series of projects were then defined which required both theoretical formulation and practical results in terms of a product or system. Gradually increasing levels of difficulty provided the essential skills and content that a conventional course would not have provided. Rather than a single tutor, all of the teachers had been asked to connect their classes with the possible demands of the projects Progress was discussed at weekly and monthly meetings. The results were excellent and several student research and competition groups were formed and went on to win national and international prizes. We present and discuss the main aspects of the implementation process, the benefits of the course, and difficulties such as the barriers raised by the faculty team, problems with infrastructure and the students themselves.