In a bid to enhance the quality of education and research at HITAM, Professor Xiangyun Du, Director of the UNESCO Centre for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in engineering, science & sustainability (Aff. Aalborg University, Denmark); exchanged a fruitful and perceptive dialogue on PBL and the implementation of the Institutional Transformation Project.
Project IoT
Professor Du emphasized the substantial focus on faculty development and the importance of supporting teachers in practising PBL. The dialogue underscored the pivotal role of leadership in driving institution-wide change. Professor Du lauded HITAM’s trust in research-based approaches and advocated for a gradual, practice-based implementation of PBL. She expressed confidence that faculty members will develop a proactive zeal to adopt leadership for change, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Mechanical Engineering Projects
With her commitment to the long-term, she hopes that the change in HITAM is scientifically documented highlighting the monumental changes and scope for improvement. This also entails placing a magnifying lens on student growth to observe every significant point in their learning curve to devise a replicable teaching approach.
Electric Vehicle Project by HITAM Students
Professor Du admired HITAM’s LEED-certified green building and encouraged students to adopt this sustainable & community-centric worldview in their projects on campus as well as in the real world. Her initial impressions as she walked through the campus prompted reflections on the importance of environmental consciousness in education. Professor Du expressed hope that urban dwellers would step out of the urban jungle and be one with the nature of green innovation & sustainable learning. She commended HITAM’s lean organizational structure and its openness to technological advancements, fostering a conducive environment for PBL implementation.
HITAM Project Expo
Moreover, the discussion delved into how HITAM and similar institutions can remain at the forefront of engineering education in the context of rapid technological advancements & changing industry demands, and Professor Du found meaningful leadership to be a very important factor in the success story of any institution and that is being reflected at HITAM. HITAM hands down leadership to every individual faculty for complete ownership of their students’ performances whereas on the student level, the learners are empowered with contributing institution-level opinions and suggestions.
In addition to addressing academic queries, the dialogue explored the aspects of HITAM that truly stood out for her. Professor Xiangyun Du was deeply impressed by how people find themselves at home when they are here, share common values like a family, and trust each other along with the leadership. She observed a forward-looking perspective among stakeholders, recognizing HITAM as their future, and admired the institution’s culture of shared vision and collaboration, where faculty, students, and leadership work together towards common goals.
HITAM Students for international Internship with Professor, NTU, Singapore
Her views on the implementation of PBL in alignment with HITAM’s initiatives like EPICS, Engineers without Borders, Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan, and Grand Challenges Scholars Programme -- “PBL can connect all the best practices and maximise well-rounded student learning.”
HITAM students designed EV.
She highlights that the modern version of PBL originated in the late 50s at McMaster University, aiming to prepare students for the workplace in their budding years. This aligns with HITAM’s ‘Doing
Engineering’ pedagogy of training industry-ready engineers. To quote Xiangyun, she highly values HITAM’s ‘Doing Engineering’ as it aligns with her personal work as well as the work at her centre at Aalborg University and addresses a high level of thinking in preparing future-ready engineers.
Offering insights into the global landscape of PBL in engineering education, Professor Xiangyun noted the growing prevalence of this pedagogy. She stated that diversity is observed on a cross-curriculum level and is highly connected to the institution’s beliefs and vision. 70% of the institutes that her centre studied are implementing PBL across different courses. HITAM stands out as Hyderabad’s top institutes to adopt this strategy in engineering education.
The experience of observing PBL adoption among the faculty at HITAM was cited as a healthy population of ‘believers’ -- the members are enthusiastic & engaged in helping students grow with PBL at the core of their beliefs while some faculty members practice even when they are just beginning to grasp its purpose.
She also finds the HITAM cohort of professors as actively involved PBL ‘DOERS’; credited to their wealth of rich experiences teaching students.
In her interactions with students, Professor Xiangyun found them to be eager and open-minded, poised to embrace industry challenges and carve out impactful career paths. Her parting advice to current and prospective students echoed HITAM’s ethos of holistic development and societal impact, encouraging them to seize opportunities, cultivate industry connections, and foster a culture that blurs the boundaries of academic differences and achieves collective success.
Prof. Xiangyun personally experienced that HITAM is a unique institution with the vision, ambition and leadership to produce global excellence in student engineers and pioneers in ways that parallel international standards set by stellar institutions across the globe.
HITAM students designed EV
As HITAM continues its journey of transformation, fueled by a steadfast commitment to excellence and innovation, the insights gleaned from Professor Xiangyun’s visit serve as a guiding light, brightening the path towards a future where engineering education transcends boundaries and empowers the next generation of change-agents and global leaders.
