The primary objective of this project was to equalise practical learning opportunities for mechatronics students by ensuring all students—particularly those with specific learning needs—have sufficient access to real mechatronic hardware for individual practice. By doing so, the project aimed to prevent student exclusion from the educational process caused by differences in prior knowledge, learning styles, or personal circumstances, and to support increased knowledge acquisition and convergence across the student cohort. A further objective was to promote ecologically responsible handling of educational hardware through sustainable design and reuse. To achieve these goals, the project sought to develop affordable, student-owned mechatronics educational hardware, supported by massive open online courses and tutorials aligned with university curricula. In addition, an online hardware-sharing platform and locally organised summer schools were implemented to support inclusive access, evaluate project outcomes, encourage innovative teaching practices, and promote both social and environmental responsibility in mechatronics education.
This project was motivated by the recognition that mechatronics students have diverse learning needs due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field, which combines mechanics, electronics, and computer engineering. Students enter the program with varying backgrounds, prior knowledge, learning styles, and personal circumstances, which the current group-based teaching model does not fully accommodate. Because mechatronics education is highly application-oriented, hands-on work with hardware is essential. However, students typically do not have access to such hardware outside university facilities, limiting learning opportunities—especially for students with specific needs. This project addresses these challenges by developing affordable educational hardware with supporting online materials for home use. In doing so, it aims to provide equal learning opportunities, promote inclusion, and improve the overall effectiveness of the mechatronics education process.