A Survey of CDIO Implementation Globally - Effects on Educational Quality

The CDIO approach to engineering education was introduced in the early 2000’s. Some universities have gained considerable long-term experience in applying the approach, and consequently it seems timely to summarize and evaluate those experiences. This paper thus reports the results of a survey distributed to all members of the CDIO Initiative in October 2014. The aims of the survey were to:•Map out where and in what programs/disciplines CDIO is currently applied•Evaluate the effects on outcomes, the perceived benefits, the limitations, any barriers to implementation, and ascertain future development needsForty-seven universities from twenty-two countries participated in the survey. The main findings from the survey include the following:•The most common engineering disciplines in which CDIO is implemented are Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering. However, many CDIO schools have also implemented CDIO in Industrial, Civil and Chemical Engineering.•The main motives for choosing to adapt CDIO are; ambitions to make engineering education more authentic; the need for a systematic methodology for educational design; and the desire to include more design and innovation in curricula.•Most CDIO implementations successfully achieve both goals for learning and for external recognition of educational quality.