A Cross-Cultural Perspective to Creativity in Engineering Education in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) between Denmark and China

This paper takes a cross-cultural perspective to link a study on creativity development in engineering education in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Denmark and its implications for fostering creative engineers in China. The analysis of empircal data, drawn from a Ph.D. study (2008-2012), aims to answer the two research questions: (1) what are the advantages and disadvantages ofPBL in fostering creative engineering students in the Danish context? and (2) what are the cross-cultural implications of fostering creativity in engineering education by PBL in Denmark for China? The results suggest that in the Danish context, PBL is helpful for creativity development by stimulating motivation, developing skills such as communication, critical thinking, leadership, etc. But disadvantages exist, such as students having poor conceptualization of creativity and poor confidence in being creative. This has an implication in China: PBL requires that the relationships between teachers and students and between students needs to be reconstructed. To break the Chinese culture's barriers to creativity is the key to reconstructing these relationships.