Hochschule Kempten      
Fakultät Elektrotechnik      
Microelectronics       Fachgebiet Elektronik, Prof. Vollrath      

Project Based Electronics Laboratories

FIE 2026

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Vollrath



Kempten University of Applied Science
Germany




Overview

  • Motivation
    • One professor 15 years curriculum development

  • Graded Electronics Laboratories (Bachelor, Master)
    • Classic and project-based

  • Evaluation and Grading Results
    • Details, timeline, correlation

  • Summary



Project Based Laboratories Motivation



Topics Electronics Laboratory Classes

  • Theory, design, simulation and measurement


    • IV curves, transfer curves

    • Transient behaviour

    • Components, analog and digital circuits

    • Data converters, ASIC, uP, FPGA

Electronics Laboratory Classes

  • 5 Graded electronics laboratory classes

  • Project-based vs classic

  • Bachelor, Master

  • Individual and groups of 2 or 4 students

  • 13 weeks, 90/180 minutes appointments

  • Reports and presentation

Report Analysis

  • Classic: Elek3 fixed report

  • Project-based
  • Less pages, equations, pictures, measurements
  • Similar simulations
  • Numbers used for grading

  • So far no AI impact

Evaluation results

Mean Exam Grading Results (Time Line)

  • 10-50 students per year

  • There is a great variation over time

  • Change Elek3 2021 showed small change

  • No change for project-based laboratory

Grading results consecutive classes

  • Projects are better graded than exams

  • Some students are still failing in Electronics 3

  • Very few students show consistent grades

  • Grading shows only limited prediction for future success

Grading results laboratory and exam

  • Good laboratory grades don‘t guarantee exam success

  • Good exam grades have good laboratory grades

Summary

Questions





Thank You !

Lectures at University of Applied Science Kempten, J. Vollrath, 2025

Laboratories Electronics, J. Vollrath, 2025

NodeEEBench, J. Vollrath, Github 2025

Links are saved at www.archive.org

Author


 Dr. Ing. Joerg E. Vollrath received 1989 his Dipl. Ing. and 1994 his Ph. D. in electrical engineering, semiconductor technology at the University of Darmstadt, Germany. Since then he worked for the memory division of Siemens and Infineon Technologies and Qimonda in various locations in the USA and Germany. He is now a Professor for Electronics at the University of Applied Science, Kempten, Germany. His expertise and interest lies in the field of design of analog and digital circuits, programmable logic, test, characterization, yield, manufacturing and reliability. He has published 22 papers and has currently 23 patents.