European Journal of Engineering Education

Vol. 33, No. 3, June 2008, 283–295

Problem-oriented and project-based learning (POPBL)

as an innovative learning strategy for sustainable development
in engineering education
M. Lehmann*, P. Christensen, X. Du and M.Thrane
Aalborg University, Department of Development and Planning, Fibigerstraede 13,
DK-9220 Aalborg East, Denmark

(Received 24 December 2007; in final form 27 March 2008 )

In a world where systems are increasingly larger, where their boundaries are often difficult to identify,
and where societal rather than technical issues play increasingly bigger roles, problems cannot be solved
by applying a technical solution alone. It thus becomes important for engineers to be skilled not only in
terms of their particular technical field but also their ability to identify non-technical aspects of problems,
the interaction between these aspects and possible solutions. Introducing and integrating these aspects into
engineering education is certainly not an easy task and requires innovative approaches. In this article, focus
is placed on the so-called Aalborg Model, a problem-oriented and project-based learning paradigm utilised
at Aalborg University (Denmark), and the mutual benefits that this particular learning strategy provides
for students, faculty and communities. The article discusses the concept of sustainable development;
accounts for the general capabilities of engineering education graduates, and discusses the integration of
non-technical issues into various environmental engineering curricula. On the basis of this discussion, it
underlines the importance of applying a problem-oriented rather than a subject-oriented approach in order
to create a balance between problem occurrence (or identification) and innovative problem solving. We
conclude that, in order for engineers to be able to handle sustainability-related problems, their education
needs to allow for interplay, mix and diversity; aspects that a problem-oriented and project-based learning
approach will involve.

Keywords: sustainable development; Aalborg model; PBL; innovation; engineering education

1. Introduction

Sustainable development (SD) may be understood as a continuous process that requires a balance
between (the emergence of) problems and our capacities and capabilities to solve these problems.
Sustainability thus “. . . refers to a process and a standard – and not to an end-state – each
generation must take up the challenge anew, determining in what directions their development
objectives lie, what constitutes the boundaries of the environmentally possible and the envi-
ronmentally desirable, and what is their understanding of the requirements of social justice.”
(Meadowcroft 1997:37).

*Corresponding author. Email: martinl@plan.aau.dk

ISSN 0304-3797 print/ISSN 1469-5898 online

© 2008 SEFI
DOI: 10.1080/03043790802088566
http://www.informaworld.com
284 M. Lehman et al.

Once, engineers may have been tool-making individuals who solved the technical problems
confronted by society through a combination of knowledge of science, mathematics, and technical
skills. However, in a world where systems gradually become larger, the boundaries for engineering
knowledge and skills are increasingly more difficult to identify and define. As an integral part of
a global society, engineers are today expected to master a combination of disparate capabilities –
not only technical competencies concerning problem solving and the production and innovation of
technology, but also interdisciplinary skills of cooperation, communication, project management
and life-long learning abilities in diverse social, cultural and globalised settings. Added to the more
traditional engineering skills, this will require that present and future engineers are able to analyse,
develop, create and form part of cognitive and social interrelations among human beings, with the
aim of facilitating the development of technology and analysing its positive and negative impacts
on society. Thus, new engineering competencies are needed and this may challenge existing and
traditional educational lecture-based approaches to teaching and learning.
As a strategy for educational development, problem-oriented and project-based learning (PBL)
provides a possible answer to these challenges. Worldwide, an increasing number of institutions
have changed or are in the process of changing their traditional teaching methods and moving
towards a variation on PBL. Thereby, they provide the students with the possibility of achieving
sustainable and transferable skills, while at the same time exposing them to the complexities of
global and cultural issues (Kolmos 2006).
This article discusses the concept of SD and how PBL is related to this. The authors present the
experiences of employing Problem-Oriented and Project-Based Learning (POPBL) as an educa-
tional philosophy and a way of creating a constructive learning environment in which students are
able to integrate SD into engineering. Based on the experiences related to the educational design
of the study programme of Environmental Management at Aalborg University, Denmark, this
paper illustrates how sustainability-related problems can be integrated into the curriculum. By
conducting project work, students are expected to manage complex problems that are related to the
real world. We evaluate this educational design by analysing examples of students’ project work
and reports, and discuss this innovative approach vis-à-vis the students’ gain of inter-disciplinary
knowledge and development of the skills needed in order to tackle SD challenges.

2. Sustainable development and multi-disciplinarity

SD is understood as a continuous process requiring a balance between problems, on one side,

and the societal capacities and capabilities to solve these problems, on the other. This balance
may also be seen as the maintenance and accumulation of different types of ‘capital’. Although
it may be problematic to use the term ‘capital’, since that particular notion often implies the idea
of a homogenous stock which can grow and decline, it is, however, quite commonly used. In
this context, the notion may be thought of as a collection of different and rather diverse items
rather than as a homogenous stock. Thus, the meaning applied here entails a ‘potential’ that can
change over time depending on how it is put to use, developed or exploited. Furthermore, there is
also the question to which extent one kind of potential (or capital) may compensate for another,
i.e. the notions of weak vsersus strong versus balanced sustainability, see e.g. Neumayer (2003),
Kjærgård and Bondesen (1997) and Steurer et al. (2005).
However, if SD is seen as a continuous process which increases – or as a minimum does not
reduce – the natural potential, the human and intellectual potential, the production potential and
the social potential on which society depends, it becomes apparent that in order to continuously
be able to solve problems, a broad understanding of how the various problems relate to each
of the four potentials noted above is required. The natural potential is traditionally referred to
as the ecological dimension; the human and intellectual potential as the social dimension; the
 European Journal of Engineering Education 285

Figure 1. The Prism of Potentials for Sustainable Development (adapted from Spangenberg & Bonniot 1998).

production potential as the economical dimension; and finally, the social potential is seen as
an institutional dimension sometimes referred to as a ‘second-order requirement’ (Konrad et al.
2006). The four potentials are visualised in Figure 1. (The term natural potential refers to natural
resources and eco-systems; human potential refers to the health, education and competences of
people; production potential is the stock of buildings, tools and machines used in the production
of goods and services. Social potential, finally, is composed of the institutions (referring to its
sociological meaning, cf. for example Scott 2001; Edquist and Johnson 1997), which form the
language, trust and networks that make continual social interaction possible.)
In Figure 1, the SD play ground is illustrated as a prism able to maintain linkages between
the four types of potentials. In quantitative terms, the volume of the prism defines society’s
sustainability potential. Thus, the consequence of one potential withering away will show the
failure of a given society to sustain itself – the prism simply collapses.
Our ability to understand and solve problems is very much linked to our knowledge; and our
potential is thus linked to our knowledge of SD, problems and possible solutions.
Understood in this way, the concept of sustainability almost becomes synonymous with a
common definition of ‘innovation’: “(…) it is the process of matching the problems (needs) of
systems with solutions which are new and relevant to those needs (…)” (Rickards 1985:28).
The increasing complexity of these problems requires cross-disciplinary and contextual knowl-
edge and a higher diversity of skills. In turn, this must lead to multi-dimensional solutions rather
than one single-truth answer. Introducing and integrating knowledge and skills from different
disciplines and contexts is, however, a challenging task and requires innovative approaches to
educational design.

3. Multi-disciplinarity, engineering skills and POPBL

Educational transformation is an ongoing activity in all engineering education addressing

future needs for technological capacity. In the European context, expectations of new engi-
neering skills have been put on the agenda of the current practice, for example, clearly
stated in the Accreditation of European Engineering Programmes and Graduates (EUR-ACE)
http://www.feani.org/EUR_ACE/EUR_ACE1_Main_Page.htm).
Responding to this, most of the engineering educational institutions in Denmark are in an
ongoing process of transformation from the traditional paradigm, which is discipline-oriented,
lecture-centred, and based on basic and applied technical knowledge; to a new paradigm, which
is interdisciplinary, contextualised, student-centred, and based on a complex understanding of
286 M. Lehman et al.

technological knowledge. The approach used by the institutions is the implementation of problem-
oriented and project-based curricula. This is due to the fact that the shift from teaching to learning
is considered the most important innovative aspect of this educational concept, and consequently,
the task of the teacher is altered from transferring knowledge into facilitating the learning process
of the students (Kolmos 2006).
In terms of theory, the understanding of PBL takes it point of departure in the constructivist-
sociocultural approach of understanding learning and education (Kolmos and de Graaff 2007).
Many different variations of PBL practice may be identified, ranging from large-scale imple-
mentation of PBL at a departmental or institutional level, to small-scale implementation in a
single course. In general, de Graaff and Kolmos (de Graaff and Kolmos 2003, Kolmos and de
Graaff 2007) summarise the main learning principles in three approaches: cognitive learning,
collaborative learning and contents, as Figure 2 shows.

(1) The cognitive learning approach means that learning is organised around problems and
will be carried out in projects. It is a central principle for the development of motivation.
A problem provides the starting point for the learning process, places learning in a context,
and bases learning on the learner’s experience.The fact that learning is also project-based
means that students have to work with a unique task involving complex and situated problem
analyses and problem-solving strategies.
(2) The contents approach especially concerns interdisciplinary learning, which not only
stresses but also spans traditional subject-related boundaries and methods. It is exemplary
practice in the sense that the learning outcome provides a good example of the overall objec-
tives. Furthermore, it supports the relation between theory and practice by demonstrating the
fact that the learning process involves an analytical approach using theory in the analysis of
problems and problem-solving methods.
(3) The social approach is team-based learning. The team learning aspect shows the learning
process as a social act in which learning takes place through dialogue and communication.
Furthermore, the students are not only learning from each other, but they also learn to share
knowledge and organise the process of collaborative learning. The social approach also covers
the concept of participant-directed learning, which indicates a collective ownership of the
learning process and, especially, the identification of the problem.

PBL has become increasingly accepted as a useful concept in education. It can be employed as
a contextualised approach to integrate knowledge across disciplines and develop diverse skills
among students by bridging university and society. The advantages of problem-based learning are

Figure 2. The PBL learning principles (Based on the works of Graaff & Kolmos 2003, Kolmos & Graaff 2007).
 European Journal of Engineering Education 287

especially identified as the articulated outcome of engineering education which aims to provide
students with the expected professional competencies (de Graaff and Kolmos 2003).
In relation to SD in engineering education, this theoretical background paves the way for the
employment of PBL as an innovative strategy for educational design. In the following, this paper
shows how an international study programme of environmental management by use of PBL as a
pedagogic method has been developed to deliver cross-discipline knowledge and help engineering
students to gain the skills needed for SD.

4. PBL practice in the study programme of Environmental Management

At Aalborg University in general, the key concept in both research and teaching is trans-
disciplinarity, and all study programmes are organised around problem-oriented group work.
A special feature of Aalborg University is the fact that around 2/3 of the teaching is centred on
problem-based project work. Using this student-centred and interdisciplinary approach, the aim
is to enable the students to think and write clearly, to apply theory to practical problems, and to
master the difficult art of collaboration within a group.
The concept of ‘learning by doing’ applied in practise takes its point of departure in ‘real
life problems’ that the students find interesting. Most often, students are in direct contact with
companies or organisations outside the university. The contact is, in many cases, facilitated and/or
supported by lecturers and supervisors, but otherwise the students are on their own.
Project work is initiated at the beginning of the semester and runs continuously until the date of
submission of the project. The project is assessed in a comprehensive oral examination at the end
of the semester on the basis of a 75–100-page type-written report. Out of the 30 ECTS available,
the project normally corresponds to 26 ECTS of which an average of 10 ECTS corresponds to
lectures and the remaining part to group work. (Note: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System is a participant-centred system based on the workload required in order for the participant
to fulfil the objectives of a programme of study. ECTS is based on the principle that 60 credits
measure the workload of a full-time participant during one academic year; in most cases between
1500–1800 h of study.) Projects begin with a practical problem or theoretical topic, which relates
to the course work and the theme of the semester. The topic of the project is chosen in co-
operation with the supervisor. It must comprise a theoretical perspective and have an empirical
basis as well.
The group begins meeting early in the semester to identify the problem and formulate the
research question, discuss the methodology that will be used to solve the problem, and identify
and analyse relevant theories and their application to the problem. The group meets to plan the
project work assignments and review and comment on drafts. Each group is assigned a project
group room throughout the semester. The project group also meets twice a month with their
project supervisor to discuss theories, methodological problems, etc. These meetings are another
form of facilitating learning. The project supervisor usually helps to identify research literature,
comments on and criticises drafts, and occasionally mediates differing points of view. The project
is supported by a number of courses that relate to the topics dealt with on the semester, normally
comprising 3–5 courses and 6–10 ECTS.
In the two-year MSc programme in Environmental Management (120 ECTS), Danish and for-
eign students are mixed and the programme is of course taught in English. Out of approximately
30 students a year, 25–50% are Danish and have mostly all followed the undergraduate stud-
ies of Planning & Environment (cf. http://www.planogmiljo.dk/) or Environmental Engineering
(http://www.bio.aau.dk/en/environmental_eng/). The remaining part of the students come from
all over the world and have a quite varied mix of engineering or science undergraduate degrees.
The courses of the curriculum require a trans-disciplinary approach and knowledge of theories,
288 M. Lehman et al.

concepts and methods that are drawn from a number of different fields. The combination of natu-
ral and technical sciences and human and social sciences is crucial to these studies (Jamison and
Nielsen 2005). Focus is placed on how firms, governments, and other organisations can support
SD in an economically efficient and socially acceptable manner. On the first semester, focus is on
environmental management from a company perspective, while the second semester focuses on
a societal perspective.
Box 1 presents an example of project work during the 1st semester.

Box 1. The case of exchange students and a local company.

Environmental management in a local company

At the master’s programme in Environmental Management, the first semester involves an

introduction to environmental management in industry as well as to the PBL practised here.

A group of four Cameroonian students with different educational backgrounds, i.e. environ-
mental engineering, geography and agricultural science, chose to work together on a project
with a local textile industry, i.e. in Aalborg. This industry has worked with student groups
before and has been a partner in some university research projects on the implementation of
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) in industry.

First, the students and their supervisor had at meeting with the company’s environmental
manager. After being introduced to the company’s production, its regulation and its manage-
ment applying a rather streamlined EMS, which was not certified according to ISO 14001 or
EMAS, the students systematically examined the production processes of the company.

In the following 2 months, the students visited the company 4–5 times. The group made
detailed descriptions of the different departments and formed a general view of where to
focus the company’s efforts. They also tried to focus on the problems with high temperature
and moisture in the department where the garment was washed.

Unfortunately, the language barrier between the Danish workers and the Cameroonian
students made them give up the use of a questionnaire. The students finalised their project
by writing a 100-page report summing up their findings and providing recommendations on
how the company could improve its EMS. Academically speaking, it was a good report; the
students learned a lot from their work in the company. The company was also satisfied with
the work and found it worthwhile and beneficial to its future work.

Following the same PBL way of making projects, these students have, during the last two
years, made a series of different projects including traineeships (in Cameroon, and at the
Wuppertal Institute) and research projects (EIA of Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline) and are now
finishing their theses in diverse fields such as the environmental management of companies in
Denmark and Cameroon, an LCA of municipal solid waste management and water planning
in Africa.

The students achieve hands-on experience with a range of practical techniques in such areas
as environmental planning, environmental policy, environmental management and life cycle
assessment. The programme also provides an understanding of the social, cultural and political
implications of planning and management within the environmental field. This includes an
 European Journal of Engineering Education 289

understanding of the relationships between companies and stakeholders, the environmental chal-
lenges faced by businesses operating on international markets, and an introduction to various
types of environmental regulations. The following are examples of courses given to support the
project work:

• Corporate Environmental Management (2 ECTS)

• Organisation Theory (1 ECTS)
• Environmental Impact Assessment (1 ECTS)
• Politics of Sustainable Development (2 ECTS)
• International and EU green policies (2 ECTS)

The 3rd semester can be used for a traineeship in organisations all around the world (and with
or without host university support) or at other universities. The fourth semester is dedicated to
preparing, submitting and defending a research-based thesis.
Box 2 presents examples of 3rd and final semester projects carried out in close collaboration
with industry and host and home universities.

Box 2. Collaborative case study involving host and home universities, students and business.

Environmental management and university-business collaboration in Thailand

A number of Thai and Danish students, the faculty of a Danish and a Thai university, and
staff and management from a local industry were involved in a research project focusing
on how to improve the traditional production of SAA-paper (mulberry-bark paper) through
the introduction of cleaner production, environmental management, and the optimisation of
on-site wastewater treatment.

One of the Danish students continued with the project in the writing of his master’s thesis. In
total, the research co-operation lasted approximately one year.

The company benefited in many ways. It was provided with insights into the optimisation
of resource use in several of the production steps, suggestions for optimised wastewater
treatment, an overview of the environmental aspects of the production, and a strengthened
capacity/capability to deal with environmental issues related to the production (Larsen and
Lehmann 1998, and Larsen 1999). The results are considered to be important steps on the
way to sustainable development. The research was conducted in close co-operation with local
counterparts, i.e. staff and management from the factory as well as students and faculty from
the university. Part of the research was presented and published at a conference in Thailand
(cf. Sopajaree et al. 1999).

The research project provided the Danish students with deeper insights into developmental
and environmental issues as well as into the social and cultural aspects of working abroad. The
staff, faculty and students from the Thai university were introduced both to a new and different
ways of learning, e.g. problem-based learning, and to students with a critical and ‘enquiring’
approach. The exchange has later been characterised as an ‘eye-opener’ and has resulted in
a paradigm shift in the teaching methods applied by Thai faculty members (Bregnhøj and
Lehmann 2000).
290 M. Lehman et al.

5. Data and discussion

The curriculum design of the above-mentioned study programme is based on the PBL principles.
An analysis of students’ project reports suggests that students develop diverse process competen-
cies in addition to technical knowledge and skills through the learning processes, as illustrated
in Table 1.

Table 1. Knowledge and competencies achieved through POPBL

approach.

PBL principles Knowledge and competencies gained

Cognitive learning Problem-solving

Project management
Contextual analysis
Contents Subject knowledge
Technical skills
Cross-disciplinary knowledge
Knowledge management
Collaborative learning Collaboration
Communication (oral and written)
Project management and planning

These skills form part of the learning goals as set up by the study board and approved by the
Faculties of Engineering, Science and Medicine. Inherently, graduating implicates that the student
has acquired these skills at an adequate level.
Based on archives of reports from 2004–2006 (3 years), the following tables (Tables 2–6)
provide some insights into the geographic focus of topics and problems dealt with, the outreach
(collaboration with partners outside the department), and the cultural diversity and range of group
sizes. (Currently, the authors are looking into the educational backgrounds of students to identify
levels of transdisciplinarity. Furthermore, an analysis of student reports is currently made in order
to identify progress in the understanding of sustainability-related problems.) In the next section,
this data is related to the three PBL principles outlined in Table 1.

Table 2. Geographical focus of student projects, 2004–2006.

The figures show the number of projects.

Topic 1st semester 2nd semester 3rd semester

International 0 10 5
National 4 3 17
Local 11 0 0
Total 15 13 22

Table 3. Sector focus of student projects, 2004–2006. The figures show the
number of projects.

Topic 1st semester 2nd semester 3rd semester

Industry 12 2 8
Branch/sector/supply chain 2 6 4
Public Authority 1 4 10
NGO/International Org. 0 1 0
Total 15 13 22
 European Journal of Engineering Education 291

Table 4. Group size and national mix; 1st semester (61 students in
total). The figures show the number of groups.

Group size Mix; continental Mix; country Same nationality

1 person 0 0 0
2 persons 2 0 0
3 persons 0 2 0
4 persons 4 2 0
5 persons 0 3 0
6 persons 1 1 0

Table 5. Group size and national mix; 2nd semester (56 students in
total). The figures show the number of groups.

Group size Mix; continental Mix; country Same nationality

1 person 0 0 0
2 persons 0 1 1
3 persons 1 0 0
4 persons 2 0 0
5 persons 1 6 0
6 persons 0 1 0

Table 6. Group size and national mix; 3rd semester (23 students in
total). The figures show the number of groups.

Group size Mix; continental Mix; country Same nationality

1 person 0 0 21
2 persons 0 0 1
3 persons 0 0 0
4 persons 0 0 0
5 persons 0 0 0
6 persons 0 0 0

Cognitive learning: at the beginning of each semester, students form project groups based on
their shared interests in solving professional problems. To get the project started, students need
to search for information about the background and context of the particular problem; to find
relevant literature; to read theoretical articles; to discuss the subject with supervisors or people
who know the area; and they may also need to contact industries or companies for interviews or
observations to gain field knowledge. When the students have collected sufficient materials, they
start to analyse the contextual situation and identify the problem. The next stage is to find out how to
solve the problem and choose a solution in relation to the given context, and this involves the same
procedures of searching, reading, discussing, and writing as in the initial process described above.
Contents: During the semester, students are facilitated with knowledge from literature, lectures,
and supervision; however, they are expected to relate these different knowledge resources to
their particular project. They need to develop different strategies to gain theoretical knowledge,
methods, and context knowledge in order to solve the problem, which very often requires a
process of integrating knowledge from different disciplines and relating these to practice. In other
words, only parts of the puzzle are presented to the students and they must become able not
only to find the missing pieces, but also to put them together in a way that presents a somewhat
coherent picture. Their ability to do so is part of the education and is assessed through project
exams. In terms of the master’s programme in Environmental Management shortly presented
here, the principle of sustainable production and consumption and the sustainable management
of resources constitute the underlying principles. Through core courses, a number of building
292 M. Lehman et al.

blocks are presented relating to the four potentials described in Figure 1, however, certainly not
all blocks are presented. Remaining blocks that are required in order to solve the problem at hand
are found throughout the project period and in interactions within the project group as well as
with supervisors and external contacts.
Collaborative learning: Instead of following procedures designed by lecturers, students are
expected to manage the project planning on their own. To conduct the project work in an efficient
way, students need to divide it into different tasks. Therefore, doing group work involves individ-
ual work, working in sub-groups and working in the project group as a whole. Many groups put
up both long-term (normally a semester, for the whole project) and short-term plans (either one
week or two weeks) on the wall in their group room. For the long-term plan, they enter a series of
milestones in a semester calendar, which may be kept flexible for modification along the way. For
the short-term plan, students very often make ‘to-do’ lists each day or each week. This process
involves developing skills in planning, entering of agreements, division of work, cooperation, and
communication. Social and communicative skills play an important role in building up a sup-
portive and motivating atmosphere, which can lead to effective learning. Peer learning through
group work can be rather constructive, since it provides mental support as well as developing
responsibilities.
Teaching and research experiences (Du 2006, Du and Kolmos 2006) also show that a progression
process takes place in which students gradually learn from reflecting on their experiences in such
way that they improve and self-direct their own learning. During the first-year programme, the
students participate in a course on development of process competencies called Cooperation,
Learning and Project Management (CLP), where they learn methods for cooperation, planning of
learning process and how to handle and develop their own project management systems. During
CLP courses, students are not only provided with opportunities of experimenting different kinds
of tools, but are also encouraged to develop their own systems independently. In this process,
students increase an awareness of developing contextualized learning strategies - not only during
the first-year programme, but also during the rest of the semesters.
Assessment plays a powerful role in students’ learning process (Gibbs 1999, Biggs 2003).
Therefore, it is essentially important to establish assessment systems that are constructively aligned
with the learning goals and can be used strategically to enhance students’learning outcomes. There
are primarily two types of exams at Aalborg University: project examinations, which normally
take place two-four weeks after the submission of the report; and examinations of study courses
(approximately four ECTS), which are normally in the written form and take place immediately
after the completion of the courses.
The exam of the report also covers the project courses and thus amounts to approximately 26
ECTS being examined. The exam, which is open to the public, will take 2–4 h depending on the
number of students in the group. The exam starts by a presentation of the project made by the
students. This presentation puts the project into perspective, and lasts for 20–45 min depending
on the size of the group. After the presentation, both the supervisor and the examiner give some
overall comments on the presentation, not in relation to the specific contents but more in relation
to the form, the slides and the information value. After a short break, the examination continues
as a group examination where the report is discussed in view of the problem being addressed
and the SD context, cf. Figure 1, forming the basis for an assessment of the individual students.
The students’ abilities to infer linkages, consider and discuss the problem, they have focused on,
and place this within the theme of the semester is a requisite for a good grading. Immediately
after the examination, the supervisor and examiner decide on the individual grades and inform
the students. After giving the grades, further comments may also be given from supervisor and
examiner to the group.
Several studies have shown that this approach has resulted not only in high skills within the
core aspects of engineering but also in higher innovation skills and creativeness as well as in the
 European Journal of Engineering Education 293

candidates’ abilities to establish co-operation and solve a given problem, all of which have great
value for the industries employing engineers (Ingeniøren 2004).

6. Conclusions and perspectives

Traditionally, engineers have been educated in order to contribute to the production potential
of societies. With the acknowledgement that the SD of today’s societies relies on more than this
potential, it inherently becomes necessary for engineers to contribute with other potentials as well.
However, core engineering skills today still focus on the production potential. PBL adds to
these skills by providing (and promoting) the linkages to and the understanding of other items
and dimensions of the sustainability potential through context-based, interdisciplinary learning.
This enables the engineers to solve complex and situated problems. In other words, in engineering
education, PBL adds interplay, mix and diversity to the core skills and thus creates the basis for
a more integrated approach. This approach is needed in order for engineers to be able to discuss,
understand and decide whether or not the progress in one potential may take place at the expense
of other potentials. In the end, PBL paves the way for innovation as defined by Rickards (1985),
thus matching and solving the problems of systems.
In this article, examples have been given to illustrate this (cf. Boxes 1 and 2). Furthermore,
the examples show that the problem and research-based approach provides opportunities for an
increased outreach of education, i.e. learning to the benefit of communities, university faculty,
and students. Figure 3 illustrates this and provides the core of the lessons learnt in terms of SD
and engineering education at Aalborg University, namely the fact that at the centre of a need or a
problem (in this case SD) is knowledge about either but that to be able to gain that knowledge,
you need to collaborate with a mix of partners.
These partners - be they local businesses, university lecturers, civil servants or politicians – can,
in turn, provide you with knowledge and learning opportunities that you would have difficulties
in accessing without defining an integrated problem to address.
As a conclusion, this innovative approach can help learners gain inter-disciplinary knowledge
and develop diverse skills needed in order to tackle SD challenges. In future research, the focus

Figure 3. Exchange of knowledge as a learning strategy.

294 M. Lehman et al.

on the development of singular students’ knowledge, from the enrolment stage up until their
graduation and through their first years as professionals, may provide much needed information
with regard to the success of the coupling of PBL and SD. The first steps have been taken in this
regard, and in the coming years, we will report on the findings of this research.
The main message presented here is thus that knowledge for SD is perhaps less concerned with
‘know-how’ and much more with ‘know who’, ‘know what’ and ‘know why’.

References

Biggs, J., 2003. Teaching for quality learning at University. The Society for Research into Higher Education and
Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Bregnhøj, H. and Lehmann, M., 2000. DUCED-I&UA Review of TFS Projects in Thailand 2000. Aalborg: DUCED-I&UA.
De Graaff, E. and Kolmos, A., 2003. Characteristics of problem-based learning. International Journal of Engineering
Education, 19 (5), 657–662.
Du, X.-Y., 2006. Bringing new values into engineering education: Gender and learning in a PBL environment. Thesis
(PhD). Aalborg University.
Du, X-Y. and Kolmos, A., 2006. process competence in a problem and project based learning environment. In Proceedings
of the 34th SEFI Annual Conference: Engineering Education and Active Students, Uppsala University, Sweden.
Edquist, C. and Johnson, B., 1997. Institutions and organisations in systems of innovation. In: C. Edquist, ed. Sys-
tems of innovation: technologies, institutions and organizations. London and Washington: Pinter/Cassell Academic,
pp. 41–63.
Gibbs, G., 1999. Using assessment strategically to change the way students learn. In: S. Brown and A. Glasner, eds.
Assessment Matters in higher education. The Society for Research into Higher Education and Philadelphia: Open
University Press.
Ingeniøren, 2004. Fra upopulær rebel til klassens duks (From unpopular rebel to A-student), Ingeniøren, 26 March 2004
(part 2), 4–5.
Jamison, A. and Nielsen, E.H., 2005. The Aalborg approach to environmental management. In: R. Fincham, S. Georg and
E.H. Nielsen, eds. Sustainable development and the university. New strategies for research, teaching and practice.
Howick, South Africa: Brevitas, pp. 405–416.
Kjærgård, B. and Bondesen, E., 1997. Bæredygtighedsidealet og nyere reguleringstrategier på miljøområdet. In:
K. Pedersen, J. Holm and B. Kjærgård, eds. Miljøregulering – tværfaglige studier, Frederiksberg: Roskilde
Universitetsforlag, pp. 340–361.
Kolmos, A. and de Graaff, E., 2007. Process of changing to PBL. In: E. de Graaff and A. Kolmos, eds. Management of
change: implementation of problem-based and project-based learning in engineering. Rotterdam: SENSE Publisher,
pp. 31–44.
Kolmos, A., 2006. Future engineering skills, knowledge, and identity. In: J. Christensen, A.L.B. Henriksen, and A. Kolmos,
eds. Engineering science, skills, and Bildung, Aalborg: Aalborg University Press, pp. 165–185.
Konrad, A., Steurer, R., Langer, M.E., and Martinuzzi, A., 2006. Empirical findings on business-society relations in
Europe. Journal of Business Ethics, 63 (1), 89–105.
Larsen, J. and Lehmann, M., 1998. Application of cleaner technology/environmental management in the Saa-industry.
Project Report (MSc). Aalborg University.
Larsen, J., 1999. Anaerobic Treatment of pulping wastewater with focus on energy recovery at a medium sized Saa-paper
factory in Thailand. Thesis (MSc). Aalborg University.
Meadowcroft, J., 1997. Planning for sustainable development: What can be learned from the critics? In: M. Kenny and
J. Meadowcroft, eds. Planning sustainability. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 12–38.
Neumayer, E., 2003. Weak versus strong sustainability: Exploring the limits of two opposing paradigms, 2nd ed.
Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.
Rickards, T., 1985. Stimulating innovation: A systems approach. London: Frances Pinter.
Scott, R., 2001. Institutions and organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Sopajaree, K., Larsen, J., and Lehmann, M., 1999. Cleaner production audit in the Saa paper industry. Proceedings of Inter-
Regional Symposium on Sustainable Development (ISSD), Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 18–20 May 1999, pp. 338–348.
Spangenberg, J.H. and Bonniot, O., 1998. Sustainability indicators :A compass on the road towards sustainability.
Wuppertal Papers 81. Wuppertal: Science Centre North-Rhine Westphalia.
Steurer, R., Langer, M.E., Konrad, A., and Martinuzzi, A., 2005. Corporations, stakeholders and sustainable development
i: a theoretical exploration of business-society relations. Journal of Business Ethics, 61 (2), 263–281.

Biographies

Martin Lehmann, MSc, is currently finalising a PhD on Sustainable Development & Public-Private Partnerships. He is
part-time assistant professor at the Department of Development & Planning, Aalborg University, and works part-time
 European Journal of Engineering Education 295

at the Region of Southern Denmark within the field of sustainable regional development. His research interests include
environmental management, institutional and organisational change, and innovation systems; in particular their (inter-)
relations to sustainable development and networks. He is focusing his research on industrialised as well as developing
countries, especially Thailand, where he has long first hand working experience. martinl@plan.aau.dk

Per Christensen, PhD, is Professor in environmental planning at the Department of Development & Planning at Aalborg
University, Denmark. He has for many years studied the implementation of environmental regulations in a broader context
encompassing among others the inspiration from institutional theories. This has mainly concerned the implementation
of new forms of regulation related to the topic of sustainable consumption & production as well as experiences on
implementing environmental management systems in industries. Lately, these interests are moving more in the direction
of how to develop EMS into Life Cycle Management. This is coupled with research on environmental planning with a
focus in agriculture, groundwater protection and biodiversity.pc@plan.aau.dk

Xiang-Yun Du, PhD, is academic staff in UNESCO Chair in Problem Based Learning in Engineering Education, and assis-
tant professor in Department of Development & Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark. She is involved in establishment
and development PBL Global Network in research and education practice. She conducted her PhD project on gender and
engineering education in a PBL setting in the Danish context. Currently, her main research focuses are intercultural learn-
ing, development of social competencies, innovative education, gender studies, and Problem-based & Project-organized
learning in higher education (in particular) engineering education. xiangyun@plan.aau.dk

Mikkel Thrane, PhD, is associate professor at Department of Development & Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark.
Mikkel’s research interests include life-cycle assessment and management, eco-design, life-cycle thinking, environmental
management and corporate social responsibility. He is member of the Rector’s Environmental Management Committee
at Aalborg University. thrane@plan.aau.dk