The syllabus is the cornerstone of CDIO. It offers rational, complete, universal and generalizable goals for undergraduate engineering education.
Whether in its complete version (PDF) or a condensed version, the CDIO Syllabus focuses on personal, interpersonal and system building skills, and leaves a placeholder for the disciplinary fundamentals appropriate for any specific field of engineering. It complements and significantly expands on ABET’s criteria.
With rationale, detail and broad applicability, the CDIO Syllabus’ principal value is that it can be generalized to serve as a model from which any university’s engineering programs may derive specific learning outcomes.
Experienced CDIO collaborators often refer back to (and encourage new collaborators to familiarize themselves with) the CDIO Syllabus Report: The definitive report on the creation of the Syllabus and useful ancillary information (e.g., taxonomy, sample stakeholder survey).