Pursuant to Act 652 of June 24, 2012 on Universities (the University Act) with subsequent changes, the following curriculum for the Master's programme in Problem Based Learning in Engineering and Science is stipulated. The programme also follows the Framework Provisions and thec v Examination Policies and Procedures for The Technical Faculty of IT and Design.
The Professional Master’s Degree programme is organised in accordance with the Ministry of Science’s Order no. 1187 of December 7, 2009 on Professional Master’s Degree Programmes with subsequent changes, Ministerial order no. 1188 of 7. December 2009 (the Part-Time Order) with subsequent changes, and Ministerial Order no. 1062 of June 30, 2016 on University Examinations (the Examination Order) with subsequent changes. Further reference is made to Ministerial Order no. 114 of February 3, 2015 (the Grading Scale Order) with subsequent changes.
The programme is offered in Aalborg.
The Masters’s programme falls under The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Aalborg University.
The Master’s programme falls under Study Board of Techno-Anthropology and Sustainable Design.
The Master’s programme is associated with the external examiners corps on Nationwide engineering examiners (Mathematics, Physics and Social Science).
Admission to the MPBL programme presupposes a relevant higher education, at least at Bachelor level and at least two years of relevant professional experience in teaching or similar occupation following completion of the qualifying exam.
Relevant bachelor educations are, for example: Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Science within any field of engineering or science; Bachelor of Education.
Other admission requirements are
Aalborg University may allow admission to applicants who do not fulfil the admission requirements but who are considered to have the necessary prerequisites to accomplish the study programme. The requirement of relevant professional experience cannot be exempted.
The Master’s programme entitles the graduate to the Danish designation Master i problembaseret læring i ingeniør- og naturvidenskab. The English designation is: Master of Problem Based Learning in Engineering and Science.
The master education is a research based continuing education, equivalent to a one-year full-time study (60 ECTS credits) and offered as a part-time study lasting two years, divided into four semesters and credited with 15 ECTS pr. semester. The first three semesters consist of one project of 5 ECTS and 2 courses of 5 ECTS each while the last semester is the Master’s thesis (15 ECTS).
The master programme should be completed at the latest 4 years, excluding leave of absence, after its commencement.
The Study Board can approve that passed programme elements from other educational programmes at the same level replaces programme elements within this programme (credit transfer).
Furthermore, the Study Board can, upon application, approve that parts of this programme is completed at another university or a further education institution in Denmark or abroad (pre-approval of credit transfer).
The Study Board’s decisions regarding credit transfer are based on an academic assessment.
The Study Board’s possibilities to grant exemption, including exemption to further examination attempts and special examination conditions, are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published at this website: https://www.studieservice.aau.dk/regler-vejledninger
The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published at this website: https://www.studieservice.aau.dk/regler-vejledninger
In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's formulation and spelling ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation. However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.
The Board of Studies can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).
The Master’s project must include an English summary. If the project is written in English, the summary can be in Danish. The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole.
The language of teaching in the MPBL programme is English and all teaching material is in English. Written assignments may be handed in, written in English or Danish, with possibility of exemption for another language, provided that facilitation and assessment in the language concerned is available
The following competence profile will be evident from the diploma:
A Master has competencies that have been acquired through a course of study based on an integration of research results and practical experience.
A Master is able to fulfil highly qualified functions in businesses, institutions and the like, through scholarship-based personal and academic competencies.
The overall aim of this Master’s programme is to support participants in achieving competences that will allow them to act as change agents in the introduction of problem based and project organised learning at the level of a single course as well as at the level of a curriculum or an institution within the context of engineering and science education, addressing diverse groups of students.
A Graduate from the MPBL programme has achieved the following knowledge, skills and competences:
Knowledge:
Skills:
Competences:
The programme is a problem-based and project organised study, structured in four semesters. One semester consists of one to three study activities which aims to give participants a set of professional skills within the fixed time frame specified in ECTS credits. A semester concludes with one or more examinations within a specific exam period. Examinations are described in the curriculum.
The academic progression of the programme is reflected in the project work. In semester 1 the participants write a personal teaching portfolio, including reflections on educational experiments. In semester 2 the project work includes design and planning of an educational experiment and in semester 3 an educational experiment is implemented, possibly the experiment planned in semester 2 but other educational experiment may be implemented. In the Master’s thesis participants work on a project designed to ensure fulfillment of all programme learning outcomes, as specified in section 2.5.
A total of 20 ECTS is assessed through external examination and a total of 40 ECTS is marked according to the 7-step scale.
An overview of the programme is depicted in the table.
Offered as:
1-professional | ||||||
Study programme: Problem Based Learning in Engineering and Science | ||||||
Module name | Course type | ECTS | Applied grading scale | Evaluation method | Assessment method | Language |
1 Semester
| ||||||
Teaching Portfolio
(TBIPBLK17101) | Project | 5 | 7-point grading scale | Internal examination | Written exam | English |
Teaching and Learning Theories
(TBIPBLK17102) | Course | 5 | Passed/Not Passed | Internal examination | Oral exam | English |
Collaborative Learning and Scientific Writing
(TBIPBLK17103) | Course | 5 | Passed/Not Passed | Internal examination | Written or oral exam | English |
2 Semester
| ||||||
Design and Planning of a PBL Module
(TBIPBLK17201) | Project | 5 | 7-point grading scale | Internal examination | Oral exam based on a project | English |
PBL Models and Curriculum Development
(TBIPBLK17202) | Course | 5 | 7-point grading scale | Internal examination | Written exam | English |
Facilitation and Active Learning
(TBIPBLK17203) | Course | 5 | Passed/Not Passed | Internal examination | Written or oral exam | English |
3 Semester
| ||||||
Implementation of Change
(TBIPBLK17301) | Project | 5 | 7-point grading scale | External examination | Oral exam | English |
Management of Change to PBL
(TBIPBLK17302) | Course | 5 | 7-point grading scale | Internal examination | Written exam | English |
Research Methods for Educational Evaluation
(TBIPBLK17303) | Course | 5 | Passed/Not Passed | Internal examination | Written or oral exam | English |
4 Semester
| ||||||
Master's Thesis
(TBIPBLK17401) | Project | 15 | 7-point grading scale | External examination | Oral exam based on a project | English |
Teaching format
The programme is based on a combination of academic, problem-oriented and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning. Teaching formats include but may not be limited to the following methods:
The MPBL programme is an international, fully on-line programme; thus, in this programme advanced teaching and learning tools, including E-learning and video conferencing tools will be used intensively.
The current study regulation can be accessed on the home page of the study board for Techno Anthropology, together with more information about the programme, including examination.
The curriculum adopted by the Study Board of Techno Anthropology and approved by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science comes into force on September 1, 2013.
Participants who wish to complete their studies under the previous study regulation for the MPBL must conclude their education no later than by the summer examination period September 2015, since examinations under the previous study regulation are not offered after this time.
In accordance with the Framework Provisions for the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University, the curriculum must be revised no later than 5 years after its entry into force.
Minor editorial changes have been made in connection with the digitalisation of the curriculum.