KALEP - An engineering education model supported by modern IT-solutions

The objective of academic education for mechanical design engineers is to impart competencies which are necessary for product development in industrial surroundings. Graduates need professional engineering skills as well as other key competencies in fields like problem solving, ideation and also knowledge management. For meeting these requirements the Karlsruhe Education Model for Product Development (KALEP) [1.] was developed at IPEK, the Institute of Product Development. In this contribution we present KaLeP, the role of modern design tools like CAD/ PDM and wikis in KaLeP as well as the application in the course projects for Machine Design, a pre-diploma course with approx 550 students, and Integrated Product Development, a final year design course with 42 selected students. Furthermore the training concept and the technical and organizational environment in which these courses take place are presented.