ROBOTICS – TRAINING FOR THE NEW AGE Erasmus Project

Project Title

ROBOTICS – TRAINING FOR THE NEW AGE

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: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The overall aim of the Project was to use the motivational effects of robotics (including AI (Artificial Intelligence)) and 3D printing to excite students (particularly young people) about science and to develop programmes enable them to engage in the “New Age Technology” revolution.

The specific aim of the Project was to develop an introductory training programme, incorporating a combination of robotics competition activities and curriculum, designed to help teachers to teach programming skills to young people to enable them to gain knowledge and experience of these new technologies, including the use and application of 3D printing.

The Project Partners together developed a general robotics/3D printing curriculum that integrated the emerging computer science principles and concepts into the course. The focus being on developing entry-level curriculum (particularly for young people) to enable them to develop their skills and competencies to understand the principles of robotics and 3D printing and their widespread application in industry in order for them to access jobs in these new-age industrial sectors. Robotics is a fast developing market increasingly driven by the development of novel and improved products in areas as diverse as manufacturing, search and rescue and retrieval, inspection and monitoring, surgery and healthcare, homes and cars, transport and logistics, agriculture, and many more.

Verbal reports from industry, as well as the presence of constant job openings, indicate industry is having difficulty finding software engineering talent to develop and maintain their software systems. This project promoted best training practice and developed appropriate Training Modules that are required, as identified by the Mapping Exercise.

To ensure that the project outputs were received by the required target groups a wide-ranging set of dissemination activities took place – a total of 34,000 individuals/organisations were reached. Altogether, 209 different dissemination activities spread throughout Europe were named by the Partners for the two project years.

The general results of this project have been:

• Benchmarking: The Project needed to include some desk based work initially to cover the field i.e. the literature of what basic robotics/3D printing training is available, what is known and researched i.e. benchmark work; (a) identify the current techniques/training programmes and (b) understand their value and usage.
• Analytical activities: The Partners undertook a European survey and data collection on the use and value of robotic and 3D printing training and identifying good practice.
• Training activities: The Partners developed appropriate training modules for use by individuals and training institutions with the expectation that the institutions would adapt/modify the modules to their required needs and add to existing training programme already available.
• Mutual learning, exchange of good practices, cooperation: The promotion and dissemination of good practices of training at a European level as determined by the “Analytical Activities”.

The overall impact of the Project has been the direct promotion of appropriate “New Age Training” Courses on robotics/3D printing – as a viable way of managing the growing needs of employers in the area of new age technologies.

Considering short, medium and long term impacts, the Project has provided the opportunity to develop and foster the interest (particularly by young people) in “New Age Technologies” and offer the opportunity to training institutions to undertake appropriate introductory training with a view to assisting young people to secure employment in this fast developing highly skilled sector of the European economy.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 132362 Eur

Project Coordinator

EU15 LIMITED & Country: UK

Project Partners

• OVAR FORMA-ENSINO E FORMACAO, LDA
• E.N.T.E.R. GMBH
• CEPROF – CENTROS ESCOLARES DE ENSINO PROFISSIONAL LDA
• SMEBOX AB
• UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI