Bridging gaps in engineering education: Design thinking a critical factor for project based learning

Design thinking plays a critical role in educating a new class of engineers who can create a better society by innovating products & services that solve real world problems. Field research including interviews with several key academicians and technocrats reveal several short comings amongst engineering graduates in India. Addressing the above concerns and building upon literature, a framework is proposed for a recently established engineering institute in India. This framework is applied to structure the curriculum for Bachelors of Technology in Information Communication and Technology (B Tech-ICT). This framework integrates design thinking as a core subject in the 1^st year via project based engineering and promotes new product development. This paper describes an innovative curriculum structured to teach design (User centered design UCD1 & 2) as a core course to 1^st year B Tech-ICT students. A comparative study of student performance between two semesters indicates an improvement in problem identification, design research and new product development skills. Anonymous student feedback from students for the design courses supports the above finding. The paper discusses the success and challenges of introducing design education to engineering students and identifies social barriers restricting innovative thinking. This paper provided building blocks for educators to teach design thinking for inculcating innovative thinking in engineering students.