APPLIED MATHEMATICS – TEACHING MATH CONNECTED TO PRACTICAL PROJECTS IN ORDER TO ENGAGE AND MOTIVATE ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATES

Abstract

This paper summarizes combined experiencesin teaching mathematics in Electronics at CopenhagenUniversity College of Engineering and in Medialogy atAalborg University, Copenhagen. In order to motivate andinspire today’s young people to study engineering, andespecially applied mathematics, it is necessary to introducethem to practical projects connected with their futureprofessions. It is also beneficial to introduce them to teamworkin international teams, already in the educationprocess. Working with practical engineering projects makeour students better motivated to acquire mathematical toolsneeded to work with complex engineering problems. Thiswas the inspiration to start cooperation between ouruniversities to find better methods how to motivate ourstudents for learning theoretical concepts. We describe someof the courses and projects at both educational institutions,and our cooperation across out two universities. Weconclude by analyzing the results achieved by studentscompared to purely theoretical courses.Index Terms ⎯ Curriculum Adjustments, Problem BasedLearning (PBL), Teaching Mathematics via Projects.