The cooperative project of the Technical Universities of Darmstadt and Dortmund and Jena University focuses on students’ competencies of in the areas of mechanical and process engineering – in particular, their modeling, assessment, and validation. The project aims at establishing a basis for the evaluation of the design of teaching methods in the engineering sciences. While taking into account the high priority given to engineering education in Germany, the project contributes to ensure the quality of university-level education by establishing a basis for its future-oriented and competitive improvement. From a didactical perspective, the project focuses on innovative teaching methods in mechanical engineering education (e.g., design projects). The project aims to psychometrically ground these teaching methods, to assess their effectivity, and to improve them systematically. In contrast to more traditional methods (e.g., lectures, seminars) these innovative methods are expected to jointly foster technical and generic competencies. These competency facets are mirrored in task content. By integrating technical, didactical, and psychometric expertise in competency modeling and assessment, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration, specific recommendations will be derived to further strengthen competency-oriented education in mechanical engineering. These didactical modifications can be systematically transferred to other programs of engineering education.
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