PBL-Driven Teaching Reform of International Engineering Management: A Case Study of the Padma Bridge Highway Link EPC Project in Bangladesh

Abstract

Chinese engineering enterprises have taken on an increasing number of overseas infrastructure projects as the Belt and Road Initiative has progressed, and the industry now looks for engineering management graduates who combine solid theoretical knowledge with practical skills such as contract interpretation, risk identification, cross-cultural performance, and dispute resolution. The traditional International Engineering Management course, built on lecture-based instruction and simplified cases, falls short of real overseas performance scenarios. PBL (problem-based learning) uses genuine engineering conflicts as learning vehicles and relies on group collaboration to complete material review, contract analysis, solution development, and report writing, effectively bridging classroom theory and overseas engineering practice. Before the course began, this study distributed a questionnaire to enrolled students and collected 85 valid responses. Combining the authors’ own teaching experience, it selected the Padma Bridge Highway Link EPC Project in Bangladesh as a research case and, based on the FIDIC 2017 Silver Book Conditions of Contract, designed six engineering dispute topics for PBL teaching practice. The paper describes the whole teaching process, reports the reform effects, and offers suggestions for the problems identified, which may be useful for international engineering course construction in Chinese universities.