Industry 4.0
TEFFIC background and introduction to Industry 4.0
This is the first in a series of educational elements which constitutes an educational framework for learning activities in the contemporary industrial world. The framework is developed as a part of TEFFIC ERASMUS+ project.
But first; TEFFIC is a project funded by EU through the ERASMUS+ programme. Participants in the international group are Aalborg University from Denmark, Europa-Universität Flensburg based in north Germany, Thomas More in Belgium, Tallinn University of Technology of Estonia and Fagskolen Tinius Olsen based in Norway. The lead applicant and coordinator of the project is the University College of Northern Denmark.
Industry 4.0 is described as the trend towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems, the internet of things, industrial internet of things, cloud computing, cognitive computing and artificial intelligence. The name suggest that this trend moves towards a new industrial paradigm which provides a boost in the productivity at a scale that matches the previous three industrial revolutions.
The TEFFIC project started out with a thorough mapping of the industry's learning needs in the participating countries. This was done to establish the competence profiles or skillsets needed in the industry to meet the Industry 4.0 trend. The project also analysed the learning environments in the participating institutions and how this must be adapted to meet the specific needs for training in the new industry paradigm.
The industry analysis showed three major factors that set training for the industrial future apart from traditional training in technical subjects.
First of all; Industry 4.0 requires that employees are expected to possess competences within several different technologies, in fact, interdisciplinarity and communication of employees are viewed as enablers of implementing integrated systems rather than isolated stand-alone solutions.
Secondly; the study further implies that future engineers working within the I4.0 domain must not only have competencies within technology, but also business insight, in order to identify where the technology can improve operations and support innovation. This is traditionally not incorporated into the majority of engineering programs and is thus potentially an area of interest to increase the utilization and benefit of I4.0 technology.
The third factor that the industrial analysis gave us was, not quite unexpected, a realisation that the speed of technological development and transformation is rapidly increasing. Thus, the demand for shorter development cycles in educational activities has dramatically increased. The institutions must realise that a close cooperation with the industry is needed, and that the educational programmes must be continuously adapted to the rapidly changing needs in the world of work.
Based on these factors, the technological subjects, the need for personal development and the science of vocational pedagogy, TEFFIC has developed a pedagogical framework to be used by educators for design of learning activities in Industry 4.0. The framework has materialized as a series of papers and e-learning elements covering different topics and principles deemed important for learning in a modern industrial context.
This concludes the introduction to Industry 4.0 and the consequences for future competence demand. After you have finished this paper, take some time to reflect upon and suggest answers to these questions;
How can you incorporate interdisciplinarity in your Industry 4.0 training?
Are business cases a natural part of your Industry 4.0 curriculum?
How often do you think it is suitable to revise your Industry 4.0 training programmes?
The next element in this series is about the structure of the TEFFIC series of pedagogical e-learning elements for Industry 4.0 training.