Project groups
Beratung und Hilfe in besonderen Fällen
(Teilzeitstudium, Nachteilsausgleich, ..)
Project groups
What is a project group?
A project group is a course in which students carry out a complete (software) project within one year. The aim is to carry out the complete development from problem analysis to realisation of the system based on a given problem. In addition to the methods and content of the subject, students learn typical professional working methods (working in a team, division of labour, taking on responsibility); at the same time, personal skills such as content preparation, goal-oriented argumentation, presentation and judgement skills are promoted.
A project group integrates at least three forms of teaching: a seminar, a specialised internship and a student research project. The ideal size is 6 - 8 students; if there are fewer, the content of the project may have to be cut back too much; if there are more, coordination between the group members becomes difficult. The following working methods characterise a project group:
- Working in a team
- Project planning with effort analysis
- Dealing with barely manageable problems
- Independent development of partial solutions
- Presenting and defending ideas and proposals to the group
- Collaboration on comprehensive documentation
- Working with tools, standards and quality assurance measures.
The industry is increasingly demanding general skills from graduates, in particular independence, teamwork and the ability to evaluate ideas, processes and products. These skills are strongly supported in a project group, although "hard" specialised knowledge and individual performance are not sacrificed. The mostly self-determined work in the project and the creation of a "real" product have a very positive effect on motivation, enthusiasm and creativity. Through the group work and the associated frequent presentations, students learn to present their own thoughts and to assert their own ideas in a group; at the same time, the project group strengthens the members' judgement and self-confidence more than conventional forms of teaching.