One of the biggest challenges in many kinds of educational contexts is the handling of IT tools within the area of applied science. The implementation of tools, both software and hardware, as part of the curriculum is an ongoing discussion at universities: is important theory supposed to give space for hands on exercises with new tools? The industry expects young candidates to be able to handle necessary tools while also having a deep understanding of the theories behind to be able to assess results coming from computational software. The reason why this situation is surfacing as an increasing issue these years is simply because the problem has worsened year after year without any solution or improvement in sight. The amount of theory and production of new knowledge and methods is increasing continuously. The complexity of the professional software packages is increasing accordingly on a highly competitive market. The trend in the industry towards a completely digitalised value chain is supposed to be reflected in the curriculum at the universities albeit we here experience cuts in basic fundings and reduction in teaching resources. The construction sector has been identified for several years as having a huge unfulfilled potential in economical growth due to a lack of adoption of standardisation and digital tools. The area of Infrastructure compared to the built environment, which is characterised as by being financed almost entirely by public money, is where the attention and demand for more effective design and construction methods is evident. This Erasmus+ project wishes to develop new ways of teaching and looking at new ways of introducing professional tools in the study environment with a strong focus on exercises close to real life situations (problem based learning) without reducing the necessary underlying theoretical understanding. The changing demands are a global phenomena although the Scandinavian countries, especially Norway and Finland, are moving ahead compared to many other countries. In this Erasmus+ project we want to assemble the strongest possible team to develop a forward-looking way to develop a curriculum that faces the challenges described and can become a role model and motivating factor for other educational institutes. We need a curriculum that is flexible and sustainable in an accelerating digitalisation context, addresses global challenges both economical and environmental, and prepares our students to handle changes which are coming with an ever-increasing speed. Building Information Modelling (BIM), Concurrent Engineering (CE), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Machine Control Systems (MCS) are all new concepts which originate from the digitalisation of data. New tools like laser and radar scanning technologies, drones, Virtual and Augmented Reality etc. all add new possibilities which we somehow need to address in our curriculum. We expect these new areas to be introduced as natural elements in a real case work environment carried out as a one week intensive study course where students from 4 different countries work together, solving problems together. The Erasmus+ project delivers in three areas. First, developing a new curriculum and didactic methods which are aimed at teaching our students to be open minded, tolerant and seeking for solutions within a compromise. At the same time they must learn about new work methods following the logic of the digital mindset, using digital tools being able to help each other, learning and teaching each other new things every day, and at the same time achieving a common goal. The second delivery of the project is the development of new assessments methods for all parts of the project both for our own course development to be able to improve from workshop to workshop, but also to measure the impact on the students and also the professional domain. The final delivery is our goal of disseminating our results. The outcome of the project both the developed curriculum and didactics, and also the evaluated results will be presented locally, regional, national and not the least in other European countries and will be made available for free on a webpage. We want to influence a new way of thinking when it comes to teaching engineering into a new digital age where the dependencies on digital tools for design and communication in a global context is getting inevitable.
The InRoad project was started to develop an all-new intensive course programme for cross-disciplinary road infrastructure design in a digital age for higher education institutions in a global context.
Partners applied for this project due to the pressing need to address the growing gap between industry digitalization and academic preparedness. The rapid evolution of IT tools in the applied science arena presents a significant challenge for educational institutions. While industries demand graduates proficient in both theoretical understanding and practical tool handling, universities struggle to integrate these aspects seamlessly. Over the years, this issue has intensified without a clear solution in sight. The expansion of theoretical knowledge and the complexity of professional software packages have outpaced academic curricula. Despite the industry's shift towards complete digitalization, universities face budget constraints and reduced teaching hours. This dissonance is particularly pronounced in the construction sector, which lags in adopting digital tools and standardization practices. Meanwhile, the infrastructure field, primarily publicly funded, calls for more efficient design and construction methods. Given this landscape, the goal of the project was to bridge the gap between industry demands and academic readiness in the face of rapid digital transformation by finding new and innovative teaching methods.