Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

The aim of the project is to enable the students to work professionally in a collaborative engineering based design and product development process with a client (company) to achieve a professional design proposal in coherence with predefined targets and criteria, encompassing both market and user context as well as manufacturing and production context.

Students who complete the module:

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• Must be able to account for and reflect on the scientific validity of the main experiments, tests, proposals and evaluations affecting the decision-making in the design process

• Must be able to explain and argue for production methods and manufacturing tools in relation to the manufacturer’s market position, culture and capabilities
• Must be able to account for the main critical issues in the design proposal related to market and production feasibility and the appropriate course of action to amend these
• Must be knowledgeable about the fundamental principles of Problem Based Learning (PBL) as implemented in the Aalborg PBL model at the Faculty of Engineering and Science (*)

(*)To obtain the knowledge, skills and competence marked with (*) it is presupposed that students follow the course in Problem Based Learning and Project Management that the school offers all foreign students in the beginning of 1st semester.

Skills

• Must be able to identify, generate and communicate relevant product development research of use, market, production and technology and use this to create a design brief stating the objectives of the design proposal and generate visions and specifications and continuously revise this during the development process

• Must be able to estimate market potential, retail price point and determine the target cost of production per unit and design and construct product and product component proposals related to this price point, with due consideration to available production methods and manufacturing tools and capacity
• Must be able to research, explain and evaluate a main technology used in the product design or manufacturing process in the project
• Must apply and argue the choice of design and construction methods used to generate proposals depending on the specific focus at a given time throughout the design process
• Must be able to structure project management activities based on a wellformulated problem formulation (*)

(*)To obtain the knowledge, skills and competence marked with (*) it is presupposed that students follow the course in Problem Based Learning and Project Management that the school offers all foreign students in the beginning of 1st semester.

Competences

• Must be able to generate and present an innovative product solution for a given company, market and target group, that integrates design, construction and production aspects at an advanced level and demonstrate the ability to select, assess and further develop critical aspects of the solution

• Must be able to design a product that integrates functional aspects and features with desired visual expression, tactile and cognitive use-experience considerations that appeals to the target group
• Must be able to design central components in details, estimating the market potential and production costs for a given number of units and present the proposal in a decision-ready manner for a client
• Must be able to ensure that construction and production costs do not exceed the specified price and that the product’s appearance, market position and overall presentation are in keeping with the company brand
• Must be able to reflect on, plan and manage a study project in a PBL learning environment (*)

(*)To obtain the knowledge, skills and competence marked with (*) it is presupposed that students follow the course in Problem Based Learning and Project Management that the school offers all foreign students in the beginning of 1st semester.

Type of instruction

See general description of the types of instruction described in the introduction to Chapter 3.

Exam

Exams