According to most analysts, the 3D printing market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds over the coming years. Experts say that the worldwide shipments of 3-D printers in 2015 will more than double from 2014. Staggering as the forecast is, they say even those numbers will be a small fraction of the total potential market. According to a forecast by Canalys, the size of the 3-D printing market including printers, materials and services is expected to rise from US$2.5 billion in 2013 to US$16.2 billion by 2018, a CAGR of over 45%. 3D printing has become an established technology for producing prototypes and concept models of all types of products. But as it matures, there is a clear and substantial potential across numerous sectors, such as engineering and architecture, aerospace and defence, and medical, for 3D printing to have a dramatic impact within five years. The main objective of this project is to address the need to feed the 3D printing industry that is under high growth with potential users such as students, users, experts and professionals of current sectors, so called "target group", by developing a thorough VET tool that provides new skills in the "learning pillars" and "promoting entrepreneurship". From this main objective, several specific objectives are defined: SO1. Capacity Building in new sectors: Promoting ACTIVE COOPERATION and partnership between Higher education institutions (KIT), VET provider (CETEM, CEIPE, STP) and partners from outside academia: enterprises (STP,CETEM), professional organisations (CETEM), and local/Regional Bodies (CETEM, STP) in order to obtain an impact on the modernisation and internationalisation of VET education in the 3D Printing sector. SO2. Create a FLEXIBLE LEARNING PATHWAYS able to provide HE students and graduates the most important competences and skills, such as learning internationalization and growing use of digital learning. This new learning pathway will also include validation of prior learning and will aim to improve the level of both sector specific and transversal competences and skills, with particular regard to those relevant for the labour market in the 3D Printing, such as management, entrepreneurship, language competences and leadership and their contribution to a cohesive society, in particular through increased opportunities for learning mobility and through strengthened cooperation between HE, VET, and the world of work in our specific sector. SO3. A joint curriculum that will define and analyze the most suitable training paths addressing the Skills and Capacities gaps and needs. SO4. To develop a Multilingual eLearning Platform (Website/APP) for teaching the remote learning part. This will maximize the impact and dissemination of the project during its funding period and future life. SO5. To involve VET policy makers and other stakeholders that help disseminate and exploit the project outcomes, and that recognize it as a standard VET model, which will ensure a high impact on VET policies. This International VET in 3D printing aims at supporting the development of high quality VET with a strong work-based learning component, involving strong partnerships between education and employment as it seeks to complete a growing need for specialized professionals in a booming sector. E3D+ will increase the labour market relevance of VET provision and reduce the skills mismatches and shortages among staff working in Innovation and 3D Printing industry, students and unemployed willing to focus their careers on these sectors. Moreover, this initiative will enhance the digital integration in training through the presentation of the learning content by e-learning and webinars: E3D+ will be available at different Open Educational Resources platforms in 5 languages. It will support youth workers in improving the use of ICT and, since it will be an online-based training, it will support digital integration in learning to reach audiences of disadvantaged backgrounds. The present application details the objectives, ambitions and methodology of the E3D+ initiative. This project arises from a Strategic Partnership composed by VET providers, higher education institutions and business associations that will actively cooperate among them and key stakeholders (enterprises, regional bodies and other VET institutions) for the development of an online training material on one of the sectors with greater strength in recent times. 3D printing, which will offer an adapted curriculum according to the qualification profile. This initiative complies with one of the principal aims in the Erasmus+ program, promoting synergies and cross fertilisation throughout the different fields of education, training and youth, fostering new ideas, as digital integration in training, attracting new actors from the world of work, education and training for collaborating with, but above all, with the target of stimulating new forms of cooperation.
CONTEXT In a world where socio-economic divisions and the demand for job positions are very important issues that require a response, the need to train workers in order to improve and increase their qualifications and skills was at the core of the E3D+ project which, through the use 3D printing, a constantly growing industry, has successfully achieved all the previously set objectives; active cooperation was established by the Consortium with different kinds of institutions, organizations and bodies, in order to have an impact on VET education. At the same time, different training paths were tailored to address the needs, the skills, the competences and the relative knowledge gaps of different target groups, which can enrich their professional career in this technological field. A multilingual eLearning Platform followed, alongside with VET policy makers and stakeholders who were reached out in order to contribute to the dissemination and the expansion of the E3D+ impact in the VET sector. PARTNERSHIP This project arises from a Strategic Partnership composed by VET providers (CEIPES), Higher education institutions (KIT) and business associations (CETEM, STP) that have actively cooperated among them and key stakeholders (enterprises, regional bodies and other VET institutions) for the development of an online training material on one of the transversal sectors with greater strength in recent times, 3D printing, which offer an adapted curriculum according to the qualification profile. RESULTS AND IMPACT ACHIEVED O1: Report on the 3D Printing Industry: This Study provided a complete Analysis of the current skills and qualifications needs of the European 3D Printing Industry compared with the current training offer in Europe. O2: Training path, learning content structure and guidelines for trainers: Activities in this output were aimed at the definition of the training paths, as well as the definition of the learning content. This output defined and analyzed the necessary areas of knowledge and the pedagogical methodologies to provide the specific needs of certain job profiles and different industrial sectors in 3D printing. O3: E-learning platform: E-learning and the content management system achieved the goal of improving access to education and knowledge globally. The platform contains 4 courses devoted to the training in theoretical concepts of 3D printing (Additive Manufacturing).The courses are tailored to 3 different student’s profiles plus one course that encompasses all the training units. All the materials of the modules (Slides, pdfs and videos) are on the platform available in 5 languages to all interested parties. The platform is fully open previous registration and all the contents protected under Creative Commons Open Licenses. O4: Modules Material: All the contents for the International VET were developed in the activities associated with this intellectual output. The intellectual results include all the training materials necessary to teach international VET in 3D printing. All the contents of the project were periodically evaluated and monitored by all the partners. In addition, we counted on the help of experts in e-Learning who guided us so that the development of these contents was successful. Most of the learning content was supported by web tools. O5: Webinar to establish the strategic lines of the future: These activities consisted of the launching of 5 webinars in which the objectives of the project and the contents of the training units developed by the consortium were described in real time. All these video lessons were recorded to make them available on the project website and on YouTube. The contribution that these results offer in the field of education is of vital importance for all those entities that want to implement this content in their school curriculum. As a result, we have a professional curriculum that details and defines all the learning units for each of the target groups identified in the first phase of the project. This definition includes the number of ECVET points, EQF level, objectives, learning outputs and evaluation methods. Dynamic theoretical contents have been developed for an effective transmission of knowledge, as well as a series of introductory videos to the subjects that help the student to have a general vision of what they are going to study. Also, webcam training contents have been developed for this course. The key point was the e-learning platform "Opigno" where the course can be done interactively, helping the future student to improve their knowledge in e-learning and the use of IT tools for communication and learning. To unify the teaching-learning method, the guideline for trainers was developed. Together with the training of trainers, they help to standardize the methodology and pedagogical strategies in the teaching of new technologies, such as additive manufacturing.