The automatic control subject has several connections to sustainability and can play an important role in the strive towards a more sustainable society. An example of how sustainability is included in a basic course in automatic control is presented, where the links between the degree requirements, sustainability and the subject are illustrated using The Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SGDs). The key idea is to present real world application examples where automatic control is a vital component and there are clear connections to the SDGs. The examples are inspired and illustrated using videos and images taken from the internet. Several times during the course a part of the lecture time is used to show a video, describe how the control subject comes in, and how the use of feedback control via the application can contribute to the fulfillment of the SDG

A design-implement experience in computer vision, which is part of the Bachelor’s program in Artificial Intelligence at the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, is presented. The program runs over four years, and the design-implement experience is part of a course module in computer vision in the third year. The first years of the program contains mandatory course modules in mathematics, computer science and entrepreneurship, and the module in computer vision is the first module where students were introduced to work in projects in the CDIO form. As a result, some of the students which had previous knowledge about project management and development performed well and achieved solid results. Some other students which underestimated the project scope had a less solid performance and achieved weaker results. However, the final overall feedback from the students was positive and lessons learned were appointed for future improvements.

The control system of industrial robots is often model-based, and the quality of the model of high importance. Therefore, a fast and easy-to-use process for finding the model parameters from a combination of prior knowledge and measurement data is required. It has been shown that the experiment design can be improved in terms of short experiment times and an accurate parameter estimate if the robot configurations for the identification experiments are selected carefully. Estimates of the information matrix can be generated based on simulations for a number of candidate configurations, and an optimization problem can be solved for finding the optimal configurations. This work shows that the proposed method for improved experiment design works with a real manipulator, i.e. it is demonstrated that the experiment time is reduced significantly and the accuracy of the parameter estimate can be maintained or reduced if experiments are conducted only in the optimal manipulator configurations. It is also shown that the model improvement is relevant for realizing accurate control. Finally, the experimental data reveals that, in order to further improve the model accuracy, a more advanced model structure is needed for taking into account the commonly present nonlinear transmission stiffness of the robotic joints.

A case study of the use of reflections within the Applied physics and electrical engineering program at Linköping University is presented. Reflections have been used for several years and they are done at four stages in the program, in terms of reflections at the end of the Introductory course in year one, design-implement experiences in year three and five, and a reflection document that is the last component of the Master’s thesis. In the first three stages a project model is used to support the planning and execution of the project, and in the project model the project work ends with a reflection. In the reflection document connected to the Master’s thesis the student reflects upon both the thesis work itself and the entire education program, according to the sections and subsections of the CDIO Syllabus. The paper describes how the reflections are integrated in the program. Experiences from student perspective are collected in a small-scale study via interviews with students from year one and year five. 

Interaction with the surrounding society and external stakeholders is an important component when developing and managing high quality and relevant education programs. This paper presents some of the outcomes of the project MERUT which was carried out during 2018 – 2020 with support from the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova. The key outcome is a toolbox offering a structured way to describe and handle methods and tools for stakeholder interaction. The methods of interaction are organized in three categories, denoted A, B, and C, where category A includes methods for external stakeholders to influence the management and development of the education program. Category B consists of means for external stakeholders to have an active role in course modules, and category C contains methods and tools to evaluate the quality and relevance of the education from, for example, alumni or employer perspective. Examples from the different categories are presented, including the CDIO Syllabus Survey, alumni surveys, and reflection documents. 

For accurate control of industrial robots, a fast and easy-to-use method to estimate the model parameters based on experimental data is desired. This publication is about optimal experiment design in terms of short experiment times and an accurate parameter estimate. An optimization problem that is based on information matrices is solved for finding the optimal robot configurations for the identification experiment. A simulation study shows that the experiment time can be reduced significantly and the accuracy of the parameter estimate can be increased if experiments are conducted only in the optimal manipulator configurations. Furthermore, it is shown that a realistic estimate of the uncertainty in the frequency response function is crucial for successful experiment design.

Challenge-based learning (CBL) is a learning approach that has received increased attention during  the last years. In some of the publications about CBL the connections to the CDIO (conceive-design-implement-operate) framework is discussed, and the purpose of this paper is to discuss these connections further. CBL has connections to both Problem-based learning (PBL) and Project-based learning (PjBL), but while these are learning approaches, the CDIO framework has a program perspective, including aspects of learning approaches, and hence a wider scope. The connections and differences between CBL and CDIO are discussed based on the components of the CDIO Standards.  

The CDIO Initiative is going through a process of reconsidering and updating the CDIO approach for engineering education development. Previous work resulted in substantial updates of the twelve CDIO standards and the introduction of “optional” CDIO standards. This paper reports on a similar review and update of the CDIO Syllabus to version 3.0. It has been developed by a working group consisting of four sub-groups and iterated and refined guided by feedback from the whole CDIO community. There are mainly three external drivers that motivate the changes: sustainability, digitalization, and acceleration. There is also an internal driver in the form of lessons learned within the CDIO community, from using the Syllabus in curriculum and course development. Approximately 70 updates are proposed, amongst them three additions on the X.X level, namely 1.4 Knowledge of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3.1 Teamwork and Collaboration, and 5.3 Research. 

The use of the CDIO framework in the development of the ECIU University is presented. The paper discusses the relatively moderate adaptations and modifications of the CDIO Syllabus and Standards that are necessary to make the documents applicable also in this context. Since challenge-based learning (CBL) is central learning format in the ECIU University, special attention is given to the connections between CBL method, the conceive-design-implement-operate sequence and project-based learning, which is central in the CDIO framework. The paper presents both general aspects and examples of the applications and activities within ECIU University and Linköping University (LiU). The main messages of the paper are that the development of the ECIU University will benefit from applying the CDIO framework since it offers references for what an education should give, in terms of knowledge and skills, and how an education program should be designed. In addition, the components of the CDIO framework require a moderate amount of adaptation to be directly applicable. Examples of the ongoing implementation activities at LiU. 

Betyder kvalitet och relevans samma sak inom högre utbildning? Medan begreppet kvalitet har studerats utförligt och används i utvärderings- och kvalitetssäkringssystem, är betydelsen och vikten av ordet relevans inte studerat i samma omfattning. Inom ramen för en nyligen genomförd studie gjordes ett försök att rama in begreppen kvalitet och relevans inom högre utbildning och klargöra eventuella likheter och skillnader i begreppens innebörd. Vidare belystes kopplingen till nyttiggörande och arbetsmarknad. Samtliga tillfrågade i studien såg kopplingar mellan kvalitet och relevans, och flera menade att en utbildning med hög kvalitet rimligtvis bör vara relevant, och av det följer att relevans bör vara en viktig komponent i kvalitetsbegreppet. Dessutom uppfattas kvalitet och relevans i många fall som delmängder av varandra, d.v.s. som kompletterande snarare än som motsatser. De tillfrågande såg ett tydligt samband mellan relevans och arbetsmarknad, men sambandet var inte lika starkt för begreppet kvalitet.