If PBL is the answer, then what is the problem?

Danish PBL-based higher education institutions espouse the qualities of problem-based projects but actual practice shows a different picture. The predominant use of project catalogues and the formal requirements imposed by accreditation inhibit central intentions behind problem-based project work and there is now a danger of routinization. In this paper we identify and analyze problems of routinization of project work based on students’ and supervisor’s perceptions of project work; this is done in the context of undergraduate degree programmes in the Department of Computer Science at Aalborg University. We identify the need for a further discussion of the conflict between the espoused ideals of PBL and the actual practice at PBL-based higher education. Our findings also point towards the need for action research into new ways of structuring problem-based project work in different settings.In particular, much greater attention should be devoted to the practice of semester coordination.