Internet and wireless technology are changing the economy of tomorrow, called digital economy. Hand in hand with the process of digitalization emerged Industry 4.0 which refers to the fourth industrial revolution that created gaps in productivity and changed people’s behaviour throughout the world. Industry 4.0 is the transformation of the whole industrial production through the application of digital technology to the traditional industry. One of the key communication aspects in Industry 4.0 and Digital Economy are sensors. Sensors are embedded into every device and appliance, allowing them to communicate with each other and Internet users, providing up to the moment data on the managing, powering, and moving of economic activity in a smart Digital Europe. However, the existing VET offer does not offer the required contents. For the future it means that a gap of SMEs and experts in the field of VET and HVET in the electrotechnical sector will arise. The project is thus focusing on preventing the emerging of gaps within the electrotechnical sector and the unstoppable technological progress of Digital Economy and Industry 4.0. The process is divided into 2 main pillars: 1. By developing teaching and technical skills of VET teacher and trainers (66) it will create a foundation of experts who can teach and train upcoming generations of VET students and learners in the fields of sensorial technology. Their skills developing will be done by transnational trainings and development of a training manual. To share the results and new skills and implement it at regional and national level, train the trainer local events will be organised. 2. By developing a shared Wireless-UP! teaching and training module, VET students and learners (90) will have a structured and transnationally applicable learning pathway for gaining new skills in the field of wireless connection of sensors and senor networks. The module will be developed according to the European instruments of transparency (EQVET and ESCO) in order to achieve transferability of the newly developed Wireless-UP! teaching and training contents and on the qualitative study of the real market needs. The module will be accompanied by a Wireless-UP! training kit with e-learning materials and practical exercises. Skills of VET students and learners will be assessed and compared at local and transnational competitions. The desired impact is to: 1. enhance technical competences and innovation mind-set of VET students and learners with regards on sensors and wireless technology connections as key aspects of the emerging Industry 4.0 and Digital Economy and thus increase their labour market value and employability. 2. foster the increasmenet and development of excellence in VET through new and up-to-date contents 3. Increase knowledge at VET teachers and trainers about training needs of VET students and learners and strategies how to meet them, as well as awareness of upcoming changes towards Industry 4.0 and Digital Economy 4. Improve and intensify cooperation of VET providers and SMEs and Industry.
Internet and wireless technology are changing the digital economy and will revolutionize every commercial sector, disrupt the workings of virtually every industry, bring with it unprecedented new economic and work opportunities and create a more sustainable low-carbon society to mitigate climate change. With the process of digitization Industry 4.0 emerges which refers to the fourth industrial revolution that creates gaps in productivity and changed people’s behavior throughout the world. Industry 4.0 is the transformation of the whole industrial production through the application of digital technology to the traditional industry. As studies have shown we are in the midst of a significant transformation regarding the way we produce products thanks to the digitization of manufacturing. This encompasses a wide range of communication between human-human, human-robots, robots-robots etc. as well as gaining an immense load of data. Both activities are at a more detailed level based on sensors and their activity. Sensors are and will be embedded into every device and appliance, allowing them to communicate with each other and users, providing up to the moment data on the managing, powering, and moving of economic activity. Already, 14 billion sensors are attached to resource flows, warehouses, road systems, factory production lines, the electricity transmission grid, offices, homes, stores, and vehicles etc. By 2030, it is estimated there will be more than 100 trillion sensors connecting literary everything. The Wireless-UP! project recognizes the shift in the digital economy and Industry 4.0. It thus has developed a new vocational module which contributes to the further strengthening of key competencies in VET curricula in the electrotechnical sector according to the needs of the Industry 4.0 and Digital Economy. Alongside the module, a new toolkit for VET students and learners was developed to facilitate the gaining of new skills. A skills benchmarking model in form of local and transnational competitions helps to assess and compare the skills of VET students and learners from different countries learning the same module. The base for the development of the WirelessUP! Training Module were the “Recommendations for local implementation of smart systems in VET for industry 4.0”. The aim of it was to provide a baseline for implementing an educational framework of the Wireless-UP! training module. The methodology helps understanding current and future labour market demands, how it will shape both the need to re-skill the current workforce and vocational training for young people and helps to formulate skills development in the electrotechnical sector. Following a defined methodology, the partners have identified altogether 28 occupations and 39 courses/subjects within the occupations in five partner countries which are suitable for implementing the new Wireless-UP! Training Module. The Recommendations offer a detailed description of the level, duration and key competences of identified qualifications and for each qualification the level and learning outcomes of identified subjects. The Wireless-UP! Module is thus made of three parts: Internet of Things: Sensing and Actuator Devices, Connecting Devices to IoT via Wireless Mesh Networks and Implementing Wireless Technologies in Automation Systems with a duration of the 45 school hours which equal three ECVET credit points. The Module is accompanied by the Wireless-UP! Toolkit offering both theoretical description and practical exercises for VET learners and students. The practical exercises are design in form of projects using IQRF, Arduino MKR1000 and RaspberryPi which support the theoretical part. Theoretical content and practical exercises are also available at Moodle platform as e-learning materials. In addition to the Wireless-UP! Module, the Wireless-UP! Trainers Guidebook supports trainers and teachers in the development of effective training as well as in the development of transversal competences along with the professional ones. It offers a range of instructional cards as a series of methods and exercises for the capitalisation of professional and transversal competences, mainly creativity, communication and commitment and sustainability. In order to test and exploit the results of the project, project partners have organised pilots of the Wireless-UP! Module and train the trainer events. At the training events more than 50 teachers, trainers and mentors have participated, whereas more than 100 VET students have participated in the piloting in the 5 VET schools. In order to assess and compare the acquired skills, partners introduced local and transnational competition as a form of benchmarking. Competitions offer a wide range of potential benefits. They help the participants to develop technical and soft skills that are crucial for their career progression. The developed module will be implemented in the regular vocational education partner schools.