Educational Laboratories Platform for Complex Engineering Processes with Remote Access Erasmus Project

Project Title

Educational Laboratories Platform for Complex Engineering Processes with Remote Access

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

While experts in demography and urbanism projected that the world population will double by 2050 and that by 2020, 80% of people will live in cities and produce nearly 80% of the CO2, it is estimated that the overall investment in new technologies will reach in 2020 the fabulous sum of 110 billion dollars.
Another statistic shows that by the year 2050 the final energy demand for buildings sector will increase with 60% while the energy related greenhouse gas emissions will more than double.
European Union crosses a period of changing policies to reduce dependence on imported primary energy. Among other related directives, Directive 2010/31/EU stipulates: “Measures are needed to increase the number of buildings which not only fulfil current minimum energy performance requirements, but are also more energy efficient, thereby reducing both energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. For this purpose, Member States should draw up national plans for increasing the number of nearly zero-energy buildings and regularly report such plans to the Commission”.
In this context, the project Educational Laboratories Platform for Complex Engineering Processes with Remote Access (EduLabFrame) addresses the development of sense-making skills through e-learning concerning the design, configuration and administration of complex technological settings.

Our objective was to develop an educational framework for essential disciplines related to power and mechanical engineering through e-learning and virtual experience. Throughout project results we pursued the positive impact on the students which would increase the level of:
1. Digital competence
2. Positive attitude towards the EU values
3. Understanding complex engineering processes.
4. Competence in foreign languages

The project consortium was composed of four partners:
CO – University Politehnica of Bucharest is the oldest and prestigious engineering school in Romania being recognized at national and European level. Its activity has been started 195 years ago. UPB has more than 25000 students and 1650 academic, 15 faculties, 57 departments, 38 research centres.
P1 – University of Ljubljana is an institution with a very rich tradition. It was established in 1919 on the foundations of a long-established pedagogical tradition. It is a very large university, with 50.000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, taking over 300 different undergraduate and postgraduate study programmes. It employs approximately 6,000 higher education teachers, researchers, assistants and administrative staff in 23 faculties and 3 arts academies.
P2 – Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving Foundation is a non profit entity founded in 1987 and supervised by the Ministry of Environment, Energy & Climate Change. CRES is by Law the National Centre for Coordination in the fields of RES, RUE, and Energy Saving (ES), its primary aim being to promote technological applications in these fields both at a national and international level. It acts as an advisor to the Greek State, while during the years has established a highly visible profile.
P3 – Soft Tehnica is a software company that covers a large area of activities related to computer science and computer engineering, such as: specialized consulting services, analysis and software development, installation and configuration of networks, integration of systems and ready-to-use, customized, software solutions.

The project undertaken main activities were:
1. Training of the trainees
2. Development of virtual laboratories
3. Developing of handbook material
4. Implementation of e-learning platform for training purposes
5. Dissemination of the project results

The carry out of the intellectual outputs has generated a positive impact which is reflected on the real beneficiaries of the project results, namely:
Project teams which are the direct beneficiaries of the project results. The personnel involved in either administrative or teaching matters gained greater experience in working in such projects and updating course materials and establishing new connections.
Participating organizations are also the beneficiaries of the project results. The institutions gained experience in managing European projects.
Students are also the direct beneficiaries of the project results. Throughout training sessions, they had the opportunity to learn the current technologies existing in Europe, learning from best practices that are successfully applied in EU countries. Additionally, results gained along the project will have a great impact on students learning and more attractive education tools in different fields will be generated.
The long-term benefits of the projects result we believe to be better prepared engineers, which will have access to better jobs and this will bring benefits to national economies of the partner countries and a better immersion into Industry 4.0 through project efforts to integrate digital technologies in laboratory activities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 252724,98 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI & Country: RO

Project Partners

• UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI
• CENTRE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND SAVING FONDATION
• SC SOFTTEHNICA SRL