Application of CDIO Approach to Engineering BEng, MSc and PhD Programs Design and Implementation

In today’s technological development, the system of division of labor in the field of en-gineering is becoming more and more complicated. It is therefore necessary to improve and better adapt the system of engineering education to different types of professional engineering activities. In accordance with the Bologna process in Europe, including Russia, as well as in a number of other countries, the tiered system of higher engineering education has been defined by the implementation of programs in three cycles: BEng programs – 1st Cycle, MSc programs – 2nd Cycle, PhD programs (Candidate of Science in Russia) – 3rd Cycle. Modernization of practice-oriented BEng programs to train bachelors for complex engi-neering activities at all stages of the life cycle of technical objects, processes and systems in many universities of the world is carried out using the CDIO approach (Conceive, Design, Im-plement, Operate). This approach is now well established, as it is consistent with the require-ments to the learning outcomes of university graduates and competences of professional engi-neers, set out in international standards (IAE Graduate Attributes and Professional Competenc-es). The CDIO approach allows the design and implementation of BEng programs in accord-ance with the criteria for accreditation of engineering programs in the countries - participants of the Washington Accord, including the criteria of the Russian Association for Engineering Education (RAEE). According to the requirements of EUR-ACE Framework Standards and Guidelines engi-neering MSc programs, as a rule, should prepare graduates for innovative engineering activity. Programs of PhD graduate schools are focused mainly on training graduates for research activi-ties in the field of technical sciences. Internationally recognized criteria for accreditation of PhD programs, including those in the field of engineering and technology, are not available so far. There are only general guidelines for the design and implementation of PhD programs as set forth, for example, in Quality Assurance in Doctoral Education - results of the ARDE pro-ject, developed as a part of the European University Association (EUA) activity. Thus, systemic approaches to improve engineering education at the 2nd and 3rd Cycles, similar to the CDIO approach for the modernization of engineering education in the 1st Cycle, are not developed yet. At the same time, it is important for research universities, such as Tomsk Polytechnic University and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, to have guidelines to improve the quality of the design and implementation of engineering MSc and PhD programs. In the second edition of the book Rethinking Engineering Education: the CDIO Ap-proach, published by Springer in 2014, E. Crawley and his co-authors, suggest principles for the application of the CDIO approach to improve MSc and PhD engineering programs. The paper presents the results of an analysis and evaluation of the relevance of the CDIO Standards and the CDIO Syllabus for the design and implementation of engineering MSc and PhD programs. The trends of development of the CDIO approach to improve the quality of engineering education at the master's level and doctoral studies will be discussed.

Proceedings of the 12th International CDIO Conference, Turku, Finland, June 12-16 2016