The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the effectiveness of learning from failure to develop resilience, creativity and innovation in students and understand the interrelatedness between creativity and innovation and conformance to norm in the Diploma in Chemical Engineering program offered by Singapore Polytechnic. The paper first provides a brief explanation of chemical product design as the context for integrating conceiving, designing, implementing and operating skills into the program when CDIO Framework was implemented in 2008. Then, it examines how the Chemical Product Design pathway offers learning opportunities for students to engage in ‘learning from failure’ that meet the CDIO Learning Outcomes in Section 2.4 Attitudes, Thought and Learning. In this paper, failure refers to students undertaking multiple iterations of tasks, such as refining prototypes before achieving a successful outcome. This study uses a mixed-method approach to gain a holistic understanding of students’ experiences in learning from failure. It affirmed that the Chemical Product Design pathway indeed developed students’ tolerance for failure and resilience. Resilient students are more likely to persist through failure or challenges and continue refining their ideas and excel. The process of coping with failure not only strengthens students’ problem-solving confidence but also supports sustained creativity and innovation. However, the strong emphasis on conformity within the broader chemical engineering program may have inhibited the growth of creative thinking to a certain extent. There is a need to provide psychological safety for students to experience failure and reframe how learning from failure could bring more benefits than harm to student learning.
