End of This Semesters Term: Study Projects Successfully Completed!
Study Projects in the Vocational Fields of Automotive Engineering and Production Engineering
In the bachelor’s degree program for teaching at vocational colleges, students have the opportunity to explore real work processes in companies in a research project. The investigations were conducted in response to a didactical question, and the work requirements were made tangible. Before visiting the companies, the students chose a specific skilled occupation and a typical work process to model. During the explorations, this model was evaluated and adapted, taking into account the designability of work, technology and education. The findings were reflected and interpreted in relation to the tasks of a prospective teacher at a vocational school in the vocational specialization of automotive engineering or production engineering. In particular, the field of tension between the knowledge of an academically educated person acquired in the course of studies and the work requirements of skilled workers was addressed.
In one of the research projects, two automotive engineering students addressed the pedagogic question of how service, maintenance and inspection activities for an electric vehicle differ from those for an internal combustion engine with regard to the cooling system. Their research led them to Procar Automobile GmbH & Co. KG in Cologne. There, they were shown and explained in an interview how to replace the coolant using a BMW i8 Coupé, a plug-in hybrid vehicle.