Developing students’ transversal skills: A case study of an international product development project

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges faced by higher education is the development of students’ transversal skills. With the aim of uncovering practices that support the development of students’ transversal skills, this case study investigates the students’ perceptions of transversal skills development in an international product development project organised by inno.space Design Factory Mannheim and HAMK Design Factory. The interviews to survey the students’ expectations early in the course and during the end of the course, point out the importance of physical learning environments, student mobility and interdisciplinary teams for transversal skills development.

Keywords

• 21st-century skills
• Design Factory
• Transversal skills
• Product development