Development and validation of mould design and manufacturing OER from experienced labourers’ know-how to complement VET Erasmus Project

Project Title

Development and validation of mould design and manufacturing OER from experienced labourers’ know-how to complement VET

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

Several studies carried out in the international mould industry identify the mismatches between the training offer and the growing demand for specialisation in the labour market for moulds. In addition to skills shortages in European manufacturing industries and the need for stronger links between business and education, the European mould sector also suffers from the loss of implicit knowledge due to the retirement of experienced workers from the labour market and a shortage of motivated young people willing to work in the mould sector, with the consequent difficulty for an adequate generational replacement. The main objective of the MOULVET project has been to minimize the generational problem detected due to the lack of certain skills demanded by the companies from the mould sector to students and inexperienced workers.

MOULVET has developed Open Educational Resources (OER), based on the knowledge (gained through experience) of workers with experience in the mould sector, which complements the formal and non-formal training of students and inexperienced workers in the sector. This training, aimed at enriching the knowledge of these groups, reduces the mismatch between the skills acquired through existing training and those required by companies. This is the main objective of this initiative, retaining the knowledge of experts in the sector, which has allowed to establish a closer link between industry and training and promotes the use of ICT through the OER platform and the application of augmented reality (as a way to engage new generations also).

The MOULVET consortium has brought together a multidisciplinary and complementary team made up of five organisations from three different countries (Germany, Portugal and Spain), all leaders in the manufacture of moulds, namely:
AIJU, with more than 30 years of experience collaborating with companies to improve their mould design and manufacturing processes. It has a team of experts in 3D, design, animation, augmented reality programming and game development. It also provides training and collaborates with professional training centres and universities to improve the skills of students and young workers in the sector.
CEIV, has extensive experience in disseminating different national projects. In addition, it has provided a solid framework to guarantee the quality and adequacy to the established objectives of the project, its dissemination and exploitation. In addition, CEIV, as an association, provides sector companies interested in improving this type of training as stakeholders.
CENTIMFE, whose main objective is to support the technological development of the mould and plastic sectors in Portugal. It also develops education and training activities in the sector. It contributed its technical knowledge on mould design and manufacturing to extract the information from the experts and to propose the structure and content of the case studies and to contribute its vision in the design of the practical cases.
KIMW-Q. The activities of this education and training centre (for moulds and plastics sector) are practice-oriented. Its vision on the characteristics of must meet the type of training that has been developed in the project, created the baseline on which the OER was developed.
WI-SWF is an expert organisation in the research and development of tools for industry, including moulds. Its main task is the transfer of new technologies between industry, manufacturers and the University of Applied Sciences.

The project has been structured in five main blocks:
1. MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION
2. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND EVALUATION
3. DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION
4. EXPLOITATION STRATEGY
5. INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS
The main result of the project has been the development of the MOULVET platform containing the three project outputs or results. Each of the results of the project is listed below:
O1: In which the student learns the most frequent errors and the causes that produce them in the design and manufacture of moulds.
O2: In which, the student tests his knowledge and learns about the causes of the most common defects that can occur during the process of mould design and development.
O3: The MOULVET platform, which contains the OER developed during the project and some extra material. The augmented reality MOULVET app offers access to the platform.

Thanks to MOULVET, students and inexperienced workers in the design and manufacture of moulds can acquire new knowledge (which come from years of experience) that complements their training and allows their skills to match those requested by companies in the sector.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 167776 Eur

Project Coordinator

ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL JUGUETE, CONEXAS Y AFINES & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Werkzeugbau-Institut Südwestfalen GmbH
• CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DA INDUSTRIA DE MOLDES E FERRAMENTAS ESPECIAIS – CENTIMFE
• Gemeinnützige KIMW-Qualifizierungs GmbH
• CLUSTER EMPRESAS INNOVADORAS DEL VALLE DEL JUGUETE
• Werkzeugbau-Institut Südwestfalen GmbH