Concepts of Engineering Education Innovation and Design Thinking: Implementing the CDIO-approach Themes

The CDIO Framework within engineering education is based on the idea that graduates should be capable of conceiving, designing, implementing, and operating (i.e., CDIO) complex systems within a team-based learning environment. As an approach to engineering education, it aims to create an active, experiential learning setting where product and process are considered fundamental to the curriculum. Modern pedagogical strategies and innovative teaching methods allow for the implementation of the CDIO approach, where students are supported to develop deep knowledge, manage the process of designing and exploiting new items and systems, and evaluate the impact of the scientific-technological process on society. This article will highlight aspects of this approach in the development of a practical quantum electronics session. In particular, it will focus on the developed principles of an innovative practice-targeted programme that can support the development of students' engineering thinking through the linkage of education and professional activities. As graduates, the students will need to be able to create innovative engineering systems as well as integrate their understanding of natural and technological sciences to generate novel concepts. They will also need to be proficient in professional ethics and have knowledge of business and entrepreneurship fundamentals. As such, this indicates the need for a strategically-focused curriculum that supports the development of a range of transversal skills required for industry. In this paper, the CDIO model is detailed as a means of transforming engineering education on a large scale. In order to develop the fundamental framework of creative awareness sessions for quantum technologies and their applications, this study attempted to further explore and provide more specific illustrations of the concepts relating to CIDO and to consider how they may be applied within an engineering context. The current work will present and evaluate the principles of an innovative teaching technique aimed at providing students with the opportunities to understand pioneering technologies for future applications.