Developing an Industry 4.0 mobile training unit for industrial engineering education

Abstract

To remain abreast of the latest and ever developing technologies and paradigms of Industry 4.0, workers, students and trainers must continuously train and gain new skills and knowledge. Training content and methods are therefore required which effectively support knowledge transfer. From research previously carried out, via a questionnaire reaching over 200 participants, it has emerged that learners wanting to gain knowledge in Industry 4.0 topics have an active learning style. An active learning style means that learners learn best when they experience a situation and tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with it such as in a laboratory or demonstration session. This coupled with the increasing difficulties of teaching and learning within industrial engineering education means that there is a need for an innovative solution to tackle this problem. This research work has therefore resulted in an Industry 4.0 mobile training unit which can complement the traditional training content and allow the learners to embark on a participative experience, hence leading to a more effective knowledge transfer.