A Design-Build-Test (DBT) project course in electronics is presented. The course was developed during the first years of the CDIO Initiative, and it has been given successfully for almost ten years within two engineering programs at Linköping University. More than 2000 students have passed the course, and it is considered to be one of the most popular and also demanding courses within these programs. The key factors that have contributed to the success of the course are:
• Clearly defined learning outcomes.
• A suitable and well working course organization.
• A systematic method for project management.
• Challenging project tasks of sufficient complexity.
• Laboratory workspaces with modern equipment and high availability.
The aim of the paper is to describe these key factors in more detail based on the experiences that have been gained during the almost ten years the course has been given.