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Methodology and case study for investigating curricula of study programs in regard to teaching industry 4.0 | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Methodology and case study for investigating curricula of study programs in regard to teaching industry 4.0


Abstract:

The industrial world is currently undergoing changes due to increasing digitalization and computerization in companies (Industry 4.0). Existing control and management com...Show More

Abstract:

The industrial world is currently undergoing changes due to increasing digitalization and computerization in companies (Industry 4.0). Existing control and management components and systems located within the upper layers of an enterprise's structure are connected to the shop floor. With the current paradigm shift in manufacturing, the need for more collaboration between personnel with different fields of expertise arises. This means that members of a multitude of professions need to work and communicate with each other. These developments in the industry also have an influence on current education curricula at schools and universities. Interdisciplinary knowledge across different curricula is required to work in an Industry 4.0 environment. This paper presents a general methodology for the evaluation of academic curricula of a university with regard to Industry 4.0 related topics. Based on this methodology, a case study was carried out, examining study programs of the Faculty of Technology at the University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer. As a result of the case study, we present recommendations to increase the coverage of Industry 4.0 relevant topics in the current academic curriculum of the university.
Date of Conference: 24-26 July 2017
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 13 November 2017
ISBN Information:
Electronic ISSN: 2378-363X
Conference Location: Emden, Germany

I. Introduction

With the current paradigm shift in manufacturing, i.e. the move to interconnect all enterprise layers, the need for more collaboration between personnel with different fields of expertise arises. This means that members of a multitude of professions need to work and communicate with each other. This can often become problematic as most domains use their own specific language and the same technical term can have different meanings depending on the context it is being used in. While in software the needed translation and interpretation to counteract this problem can be automated, human interaction can not. Therefore the current standardization of enterprise levels within a model covering value stream, hierarchy levels and the different layers going from asset to business view (Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0, RAMI4.0) creates new challenges. Different domains begin to overlap and/or share certain features which were previously separated. Although applying these changes to an enterprise has already been described in numerous works [1]–[4], guidelines for teaching (be it within an enterprise itself or within a university) are not yet available. Within this paper, we aim to lay out a methodology to analyze existing curricula with regard to their course contents related to Industry 4.0 in order to identify aspects which are not yet fully covered. To demonstrate this approach, a case study examining the different curricula of study programs of the Faculty of Technology at the University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer has been conducted. After the Introduction in Section I, Section II shows related work. Section III describes the theoretical background on Industry 4.0 and the structure of RAMI4.0. Section IV presents the general methodology for evaluating academic curricula, taking RAMI4.0 into account. Based on the methodology, in Section V, a case study using the engineering programs of the University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer as an example is presented. The paper ends with a conclusion and an outlook in Section VI.

References

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