CONTEXT OF PROJECT It is a known fact that the world of work is increasingly becoming digitized, this is evident from what has been termed the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). As part of its Digital Single Market Strategy (2018), the European Commission wants to help all industrial sectors exploit new technologies and manage a transition to a smart, Industry 4.0 industrial system. This revolution is driving technology development within industry at such a fast pace that even HEI educators are finding difficulties to catch up and keep abreast of the latest developments. These skills mismatches imply that they also encountering difficulties in transferring knowledge effectively to a new generation of learners. Furthermore, previous generations of learners who are currently working in industry did not receive training in technologies such as AI, big data analytics and cloud technology which are the drivers of change. As mentioned in the World Economic Forum “The Future of Jobs Report” (2018) upskilling of the manufacturing sector is required for it to remain competitive: 52% of the current European workforce needs retraining before 2022. In fact, the EU via “DIGITALEUROPE – Our Call to Action towards 2025”, (2018) calls on education leaders to ensure a greater presence of the digital sector in tertiary and adult education to fuel the digital labor sector faster with the skills required by digital employers. This situation creates an urgent need for HEI educators and stakeholders be given the chance to catch up with industry 4.0 technologies such as AI/Blockchain in Industry, IoT, 3D Printing, VR and AR, Robotics, Cybersecurity, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Drones, etc. As outlined in the “Digital Transformation Scoreboard” (2018) whilst digital technologies have already started to be adopted by EU industry, the multi-modal adoption of newer technologies is still at an early stage leaving many more opportunities to be exploited. In fact, nearly 9 out of 10 European companies consider digital technologies an opportunity. ICARUS PROJECT OBJECTIVE Therefore, to address the Industry 4.0 skills gap and mismatches the aim of the ICARUS project is to develop an open and digital training toolbox which can be utilised by HEI trainers to educate both current and previous generations of HEI learners in Industry 4.0 technologies. ICARUS PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS The following are results arising from the activities which will be carried out by the project partners: Specifications of an HEI Open & Digital I4.0 Training Toolbox; Compendium for a HEI modular course on IND 4.0; Set of modular Industry 4.0 case studies; A pedagogic framework of how to effectively apply ICARUS digital content; An Industry 4.0 Pilot Mobile Training Unit The project partners will plan these activities via a series of TPMs throughout the project in the different partner countries. The I4.0 digital training toolbox and Pilot Mobile Training Unit will also be utilised and evaluated during an LTTA held in Malta. Furthermore, towards the end of the project the project results will be disseminated to HEI trainers and learners in a number of multiplier events in the partner countries, culminating in an international conference on Innovative Higher Education for Industry 4.0. ICARUS PROJECT METHODOLOGY The ICARUS partners will be the following 4 step methodology during the project: Step 1 - Development the ICARUS Training Specifications; Step 2 - Development of Industry Digital Training Toolbox and Pilot Mobile Training Unit; Step 3 - Evaluation of Industry Digital Training Toolbox and Pilot Mobile Training Unit; Step 4 - Dissemination of ICARUS project results via a wide range of media; ICARUS PROJECT PARTICIPANTS The partners from five European countries of the ICARUS Project are: 1. University of Malta (Malta) – Project Coordinator, experts in Digital Manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and Knowledge Management. 2. Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan (Sweden) – Experts in Robotics, Smart Production and Industry 4.0 Business Models. 3. Universitatea Politehnica Din Bucuresti (Romania) – Experts in AR/VR, 3D Printing, Industry 4.0, drone technologies and e-learning development. 4. Universidade Do Minho – Experts in Cyber Physical Production Systems and Social Networked pedagogical based approaches. 5. Libera Universita Di Bolzano – Experts in Industry 4.0, Smart Production Systems and Robotics. These partners were chosen to provide the required expertise in Industry 4.0 technologies, pedagogic knowledge and the implementation of digital and e-learning courses. ICARUS IMPACT AND LONGER-TERM BENEFITS It is envisaged that the ICARUS project will be supporting the re-skilling of HEI learners and trainers, not only in the partner institutions and countries, but in many more EU countries. This will have longer-term benefits within the EU economy as it will support industry to leverage digital technologies to increase competitivness.
The aim of the ICARUS project was to develop an open and digital training toolbox which can be utilised by HEI trainers to educate both current and previous generations of HEI learners in Industry 4.0 technologies. This open and digital training toolbox would therefore indirectly result in a more competent workforce in the field of digital transformation, which would make the industry in which they are employed more competitive. In order to reach this aim the ICARUS partners have developed content to include in this training toolbox such as the ICARUS compendium content, as well as other educational resources/approaches in order to teach this content. This includes the innovative pedagogic framework and Industry 4.0 mobile training unit. HEI trainers will be able to use this content to educate both current and previous generations of HEI learners in Industry 4.0 technologies. HEI learners can also have free and open access to this content to learn about Industry 4.0 technologies and how they are being employed in industry.
The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) has increased the speed of digitisation, especially within the manufacturing industry. As part of its Digital Single Market Strategy, the European Commission wants to help all industrial sectors exploit new technologies and manage a transition to a smart, Industry 4.0 industrial system. This revolution is driving technology development within industry at such a fast pace that even HEI educators/trainers are finding difficulties to catch up and keep abreast of the latest developments. These skills mismatches imply that HEI educators are also encountering difficulties in transferring knowledge effectively to a new generation of learners. Previous generations of learners who are currently working in industry also did not receive training in technologies such as AI, big data analytics and cloud technology which are the drivers of change. This project addressed this need by contributing to the development of training material for HEI educators and stakeholders in order for them to be given the chance to catch up with industry 4.0 technologies such as Aritificial Intelligence, IoT, 3D Printing, VR and AR, Robotics, Cybersecurity, Big Data, Cloud Computing.