Assessing International Product Design And Development Graduate Courses - The MIT-Portugal Program

Oct 15, 2026

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Assessing International Product Design And Development Graduate Courses - The MIT-Portugal Program examines the Product Design and Development (PDD) course within the Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing (EDAM) track of the MIT-Portugal Program. Around 110 participants from MIT, EDAM, and two Portuguese universities (IST and FEUP) were studied using questionnaires and focus groups. The study compares concentrated two-week formats with a regular semester using feedback from students and faculty, finding higher reported learning items among MIT and EDAM students and highlighting hands-on activities and student-faculty interaction as key to successful EDAM integration.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Product design and development (PDD) in the MIT-Portugal Program

Project-based or problem-based learning in higher education

PDD course assessment methods

Findings on learning outcomes and course format

| Ad | vances in engineering edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | summer 2010 Assessing International Product Design And Development Graduate Courses: The mIT-Portugal Program Yehudit JudY dori division of Continuing education and external Studies technion israel institute of technology haifa, israel and engineering Systems division Massachusetts institute of technology Cambridge, MA Arlindo SilvA Mechanical engineering department instituto Superior tecnico technical university of lisbon lisbon, Portugal ABsTrACT The Product Design and Development (PDD) course is part of the graduate curriculum in the Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing (EDAM) study in the MIT-Portugal Program. The research participants included about 110 students from MIT, EDAM, and two universities in Portugal, Instituto Superior Técnico—Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (IST) and the Universidade do Porto (FEUP) . We investigated the PDD EDAM course in the context of the two other groups who studied a similar course in a different setting. Research tools included questionnaires, with questions related to students’ learning outcomes and perceptions as well as focus groups with EDAM faculty and students. We assessed the EDAM course format of several concentrated two-week long periods compared with a regular semester based on students and faculty feedback. In a question related to the product life cycle stages the MIT and EDAM students listed on average a higher number of items than that of the IST and FEUP students, indicating a higher level of learning. The learning approach that follows the MIT PDD course has been instrumental in successfully incorporating hands-on activities and student-faculty interactions into the EDAM program. Keywords: product design, assessment, international education summer 2010 1 ADvAncES In EngInEERIng EDUcATIon Assessing International Product Design And Development graduate courses: The MIT-Portugal Program INTrODuCTION engineering is under constant change due to increasing globalization, impacting the way engineers work and companies make use of their employees’ innovation. As vest [1] noted: “The engineering workforce of tomorrow, and indeed that of today, will face profound new challenges. Every day the men and women of this workforce will face the stress of competing in the fast-paced world of change we call the knowledge-based global economy of the twenty-first century. They will also face even larger challenges because the nation and world will need to call on them to seize opportunities and solve global problems of unprecedented scope and scale.”(p. 235) this is the context in which the Mit-Portugal Program (MPP) has been formed as an initiative by the Portuguese Government. MPP, which includes six Portuguese universities and the Massachusetts institute of technology, was created after recognizing that Portugal was lagging behind in the world economy for the past decade or more. MPP, together with programs with other foreign universities, was initiated with the objective of enhancing Portuguese higher education and bringing it closer to industrial needs [2] . MPP is divided into four different focus areas: Biotechnology, Sustainable energy Systems, transportation Systems, and engineering design and Advanced Manufacturing (edAM) . Within the edAM focus area, three Portuguese engineering schools are involved: escola de engenharia da universidade do Minho (uM) in Guimarães, Faculdade de engenharia da universidade do Porto (FeuP) in Porto, and instituto Superior técnico (iSt)—universidade técnica de lisboa in lisbon. the main objective of the engineering design and Advanced Manufacturing (edAM) focus area is to provide Portuguese industry with people with higher education levels and global perspectiveson engineering design and product development—the core capabilities in technological innovation. edAM itself is divided in two sepa

FAQs

What is the focus of this study within the MIT-Portugal Program?

The study investigates the PDD course within the EDAM focus area of the MIT-Portugal Program, assessing learning outcomes and perceptions across partner institutions.

How was the course format evaluated in the research?

The EDAM course format was assessed by comparing several concentrated two-week periods with a regular semester, using input from both students and faculty.

What learning-related difference did the researchers observe between student groups?

In a question related to product life cycle stages, MIT and EDAM students listed a higher average number of items than IST and FEUP students, indicating a higher level of learning.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Terk