Laboratory-Based Innovative Approaches for Competence Development*

Laboratory experiences can be powerful tools in the engineering and polytechnic education system, since the laboratory is the primary location to develop the skills and competences that industry requires. A student is expected to work in a laboratory for 40-50% of the time. Thus, the laboratory has become an extremely important place of learning. However, at most institutions, the laboratory has often been found to be a weak link and has been a matter of concern for quite some time for various stakeholders. This has led to the realisation of the need to make laboratory work more effective by bringing in innovative approaches. Various areas of laboratory innovations that have been purposefully designed and directed to improve laboratory practices are examined in this article. Areas considered include designing innovative laboratory experiences, modifications in experimental set-up, variations in the experimental process, visual laboratory manuals, micro-demonstrations, improvements in assessment schemes, project work, etc. It was found that such innovations increased students’ interest levels in laboratory work, and the experimental methods adopted were better suited to competence development. Some of these innovations, which the authors initiated, designed and developed, are being trialled in some of the technical educational institutions in India. In this article, the authors describe the salient features of many of these innovative approaches.