Challenge-Based Learning in STEM and Beyond: Designing Real-World Learning in Higher Education

Challenge-Based Learning is characterized by authentic challenges, interdisciplinary inquiry, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, reflection, and the development of actionable solutions. A widely used CBL framework is structured around three interconnected phases: Engage, Investigate, and Act, supported throughout by documentation, reflection, and sharing.

In higher education, CBL can be integrated at different levels: within a single course, across modules, through project weeks, in capstone formats, or as part of broader curriculum and institutional transformation. The potential of CBL lies in its capacity to make learning more relevant, active, and socially connected. When carefully designed, it can support student motivation, skill development, professional orientation, collaboration, and the ability to work with uncertainty in complex contexts.

This workshop introduces Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) as a learner-centered, practice-oriented approach that connects academic learning with real-world problems. It is designed for university teachers, program directors, curriculum developers, and educational developers who are interested in strengthening student engagement, connecting learning with real-world challenges, and developing innovative teaching formats.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the principles of Challenge-Based Learning, concrete examples of implementation, and initial ideas for designing CBL activities in their own academic contexts.

The workshop will be led by Dr. Jorge Membrillo Hernández, a scholar and educator from Tecnológico de Monterrey/Mexico with extensive experience in Challenge-Based Learning, engineering education, educational innovation, socially oriented STEM education, and interdisciplinary learning design. He holds a doctorate in Biotechnology from King’s College London and has completed postdoctoral stays at the University of Sheffield and Harvard University. He is associated with the Institute for the Future of Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey and has been internationally recognized for his work on CBL and the Tec21 educational model.

Complete agenda and registration: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/zfq/lehre-und-medien/weiterbildung/challenge-based-learning-in-stem-and-beyond