Engineering Educators' Adoption and implementation of Project-Based Learning: Experiences from a South Indian University

This research investigates the attitudes and perceptions of engineering educators in Kerala, India, towards the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) within the framework of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (APJAKTU), Kerala. Despite the growing emphasis on experiential learning, only limited research studies focus on understanding the attitudes and perceptions of engineering faculty members towards PjBL. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to critically examine the readiness of engineering educators in adopting and identifying PjBL strategies for its effective integration into engineering curricula. The paper explores various dimensions of engineering educators' engagement with PjBL, including faculty interest levels, satisfaction of implementation, perceived effectiveness, and career implications. The data were collected from engineering faculty members by distributing a comprehensive questionnaire titled Project-Based Learning in Engineering Education in Kerala (PLEEK), uniquely designed by the researchers. The research findings reveal that over 90% of the surveyed faculty members have shown keen interest in implementing PjBL, while the remaining respondents exhibited a neutral stance. This underscores a noteworthy receptivity to PjBL among engineering educators in Kerala. Suggestions from participants indicate that, if implemented correctly, PjBL would be highly effective, although time constraints pose a significant challenge. The results obtained are pivotal as they provide an explicit idea of the current status of the engineering education settings and the discrepancies between traditional theoretical instruction and project-based learning. © 2024 IEEE.