Została ona zapoczątkowana przez Massachusetts Institute of Technology pod koniec lat 90 XX wieku. Niedługo potem przekształciła się w międzynarodową i międzyuczelnianą współpracę. Obecnie CDIO to konsorcjum, do którego należy ponad 50 instytucji z 25 krajów świata. W maju 2011 uczelnie członkowskie jednogłośnie przyjęły Politechnikę Gdańską do konsorcjum. W Polsce, poza Politechniką Gdańską, do konsorcjum CDIO należy również Politechnika Warszawska.

Zadaniem konsorcjum jest dążenie do zmniejszenia dysproporcji między tradycyjnym kształceniem inżynierów, a potrzebami rynku pracy. W CDIO ważne są trzy elementy: wiedza, umiejętności i postawa. Żeby wykształcić dobrego inżyniera, trzeba kłaść ogromny nacisk na projektowanie oraz na to, by student miał sposobność wytworzenia tego, co chce wykreować. Przedstawiciele konsorcjum spotykają się dwa razy w roku.

W dniach 22-23 września 2011 na Politechnice Gdańskiej odbyło się seminarium, którego gospodarzem była nasza uczelnia.

Członkowie CDIO:

Aalborg University Denmark (Nordic Region) - Aalborg, Denmark

AFEKA Tel Aviv Academic College of Engineering - Tel Aviv, Israel

Arizona State University (North America Region) - Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Aston University (UK - Ireland Region) - Birmingham, United Kingdom

Australasian Association for Engineering Education (Affiliated organization: Australia and New Zealand Region) - Australia

Beijing Jiaotong University (East Asia Region) - Beijing, China

California State University, Northridge (North America Region) - Northridge, California, United States

Chalmers University of Technology (Nordic Region) - Gothenburg, Sweden

Chengdu University of Information Technology (East Asia Region) - Chengdu, China

Chisholm Institute, Centre for Integrated Engineering & Science (Australia and New Zealand Region) - Dandenong, Australia

Daniel Webster College (North America Region) - Nashua, New Hampshire, United States

Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (Nordic Region) - Delft, Netherlands

Duke University (North America Region) - Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

École Polytechnique de Montréal (North America Region) - Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (North America Region) - Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

Engineering College of Aarhus (Nordic Region) - Aarhus, Denmark

Gdansk University of Technology (Nordic Region) - Gdansk, Poland

Group T - International University College Leuven (Nordic Region) - Leuven, Belgium

Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Nordic Region) - Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa, Finland

Hochschule Wismar (Nordic Region) - Wismar, Germany

Hogeschool Gent (Nordic Region) - Gent, Belgium

Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (Southern Europe Region) - Porto, Portugal

Jönköping University (Nordic Region) - Jönköping, Sweden

Kanazawa Institute of Technology (East Asia Region) - Kosaka-machi, Kanazawa, Japan

Kanazawa Technical College (East Asia Region) - Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Science (Nordic Region) - Kemi, Finland

KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Nordic Region) - Stockholm, Sweden

Lahti University of Applied Sciences (Nordic Region) - Lahti, Finland

Lancaster University (UK - Ireland Region) - Lancaster, United Kingdom

LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas (affiliated with Harvard University: North America Region) - Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Linköping University (Nordic Region) - Linköping, Sweden

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (North America Region) - Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Nanyang Polytechnic (Southeast Asia Region) - Singapore

Pennsylvania State University (North America Region) - University Park, Pennsylvania, United States

Polytecnico di Milano (Southern Europe Region) - Milan, Italy

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Latin America Region) - Bogota, Colombia

Qinggong College, Hebei United University (East Asia Region) - Tangshan, Hebei, China

Queen's University (Canada; North America Region) - Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Queen's University Belfast (UK - Ireland Regional Center, with U. Liverpool) - Belfast, United Kingdom

Queensland University of Technology (Australia and New Zealand Region) - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Reykjavik University - Reykjavik, Iceland

RWTH Aachen (Nordic Region) - Aachen, Germany

Savonia University of Applied Science (Nordic Region) - Kuopio, Finland

SCE Shamoon College of Engineering - Ashdod & Beer-Sheva, Israel

School of Engineering at Taylor's University College (Southeast Asia Region) - Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences (Nordic Region) - Seinajoki, Finland

Shantou University (Asian Regional Center) - Shantou, Guangdong, China

Singapore Polytechnic (Asian Regional Center) - Singapore

Stanford University - Stanford, California, United States

Technical University of Denmark (Nordic Region) - Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

Telecom Bretagne (Southern Europe Region) - France

Tomsk Polytechnic University - Tomsk, Russia

Tsinghua University (East Asia Region) - Beijing, China

Turku University of Applied Sciences (Nordic Region) - Turku, Finland

U.S. Naval Postgraduate School - Monterey, California, United States

Umeå University (Nordic Region) - Umeå, Sweden

UNITEC Laureate International Universities (Latin America Region) - Tegucigalpa, Honduras

United States Naval Academy (North America Region) - Annapolis, Maryland, United States

Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (Latin America Region) - Concepción,Chile

Universidad de Chile (Latin America Region) - Santiago de Chile, Chile

Universidad de Santiago de Chile (Latin America Region) - Santiago,Chile

Universidad ICESI, Cali - Pance, Cali, Colombia

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota - Bogota, Colombia

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Telecom BCN) (Southern Europe Region) - Barcelona, Spain

University of Auckland (Australia and New Zealand Region) - Auckland, New Zealand

University of Bristol (UK - Ireland Region) - Bristol, United Kingdom

University of Calgary (North America Region) - Calgary, Alberta, Canada

University of Colorado (North America Region) - Boulder, Colorado, United States

University of Leeds (UK - Ireland Region) - Leeds, United Kingdom

University of Leicester (UK - Ireland Region) - Leicester, United Kingdom

University of Liverpool, School of Engineering (UK - Ireland Regional Center, with Queens University Belfast) - Liverpool, United Kingdom

University of Manitoba (North America Region) - Manitoba, Canada

University of Michigan (North America Region) - Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

University of Notre Dame-College of Engineering (North America Region) - Notre Dame, Indiana, United States

University of Pretoria (Africa Region) - Pretoria, South Africa

University of Strathcylde (UK - Ireland Region) - Glasgow, United Kingdom

University of Sydney (Australia and New Zealand Region) - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City (Southeast Asia Region) - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam