An Innovative Higher Education Institution Training Toolbox to EffeCtively AddRess the EUropean InduStry 4.0 Skills Gap and Mismatches Erasmus Project

Project Title

An Innovative Higher Education Institution Training Toolbox to EffeCtively AddRess the EUropean InduStry 4.0 Skills Gap and Mismatches

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 2019

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

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.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 324353 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITA TA MALTA & Country: MT

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI
• KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN
• LIBERA UNIVERSITA DI BOLZANO
• UNIVERSIDADE DO MINHO