PROBLEM BASED LEARNING THROUGH DESIGN THINKING TO STRENGTHEN EDUCATION IN SOUTH ASIA

The practice of finding and solving 'wicked' problems, i.e., real-world, complex, and uncertain; creatively, so as to have a positive social impact has always been a designer-ly pursuit, and Problem based Learning (PBL) is a known to be an approach that enables real world problem solving, apart from other top skills for the future, as reported by the World Economic Forum (2016). Based on the empirical findings, from several case studies and workshops, it was found that South Asian universities require resources that help in practical implementation of PBL approach in undergraduate engineering education, that is otherwise common practice in design discipline. Thus, a collated view of the PBL process, with stages, defined roles, and general guidelines for problem formulation is compiled for handy reference. This paper also presents a literature review on the historical development of PBL pedagogy; its definitions, characteristics and learning approaches; comparison with other approaches, such as, project-based and case-based, and its effectiveness in terms of measures and metrics; and discusses the classification of 'problems', its types and attributes, and the importance of identification and formulation of the 'right' problem to have the right impact with respect to Sustainable Development Goals. The key contribution of this paper is to showcase how Design Thinking has been used as a strategy to inculcate Problem-based Learning (PBL) into undergraduate engineering education and present the implementation of PBL and its impact on engineering education in South Asia.