Introduction Employers have asserted that recent university/ college graduates lack the necessary 21st-century skills to succeed in a 21st-century workplace (Leggett & Harrington, 2021) (Buchanan, Harlan, Bruce, & Edwards, 2016). Establishing a classroom environment that fosters these skills is one of the challenges that university lecturers face (Vogler, et al., 2018). The following are some examples of 21st-century skills: creativity, innovation, leadership, cooperation, interpersonal communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork (Häkkinen, et al., 2017). The Project Based Learning (PBL) approach is one where students are active participants in their learning as they work together to solve authentic problems similar to what they should expect in the workplace (Vogler, et al., 2018). Vogler et al. (2018, p. 460) quote Blumenfeld et al. (1991), saying that “The projects students take on in PBL are realistic, contextualised problem-solving environments that build bridges between phenomena in the classroom and reallife experiences” (Vogler, et al., 2018) (Blumenfeld, et al., 1991). The Strip and Assemble Project is based on internal combustion engines (ICE), which are taught to the 3rd year students. Nissan South Africa and Isuzu jointly donated five petrol and diesel automotive engines to the department to be used for teaching, research and innovation. The project’s scope is based on students being taught how to strip and assemble these engines. In the process, students will learn how to plan the working space, acquire relevant tools, conceptualise the project, deal with fear, anxiety and lack of confidence while working in a group setup and finally unleash curiosity and innovative ideas. Methodology Google Forms were used to recruit volunteers from the Thermodynamics 3A class. After the recruitment, about 20 students were selected to participate in the pilot project. A meeting was organised where the selected students were grouped, and they were introduced to the concept of teamwork. It is worth noting that in later “Strip and Assemble” projects, the groups were multidisciplinary, i.e. students from Mechanical, Industrial, Quality and Operations Management formed individual groups. Groups were required to give their groups names, identify tools, research engine specifications, and the senior technician gave them health and safety induction. The process was executed as follows: Day 1 – stripping of the engine Day 2 – taking measurements Day 3 - assembling Day 4 - presentations The Project Based Learning (PBL) approach is one where students are active participants in their learning as they work together to solve authentic problems similar to what they should expect in the workplace Image 1: Students Working on the Engine Image 2: A Group Presenting, and in Front of Them is the Engine they Stripped and Assembled Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2024 27
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