Design of Research Canvas to align Research Efforts at Engineering Education Research Centre in India

Abstract

Research in Engineering education has been driving how we educate future engineers. Although it is a recognized field in several countries, it is yet to gain acceptance in India. There is ample evidence of its need, scope, and effectiveness seen from the growing number of conferences and publications in India; we still do not have well-established areas for investigation, especially at the authors’ institute, which has a flourishing ecosystem for educational innovations and research. Thus, the proposed study describes the development of a research agenda at an engineering education research centre at a private university in India. The research agenda was developed using participatory action research and was guided by the university’s vision for research, thematic analysis of research studies from 2010-2020, and interview with eight faculty members engaged in education research. The resulting research agenda comprises three research areas: Technology-Enhanced Learning, Problem-based Learning, and Discipline-based education research, along with a set of overarching research questions, which will pave the way for relevant, directed, sustained, and rigorous research in engineering education.