Idea Lab: Bridging Product Design and Automatic Manufacturing in Engineering Education 4.0

Industry 4.0 calls for new multidisciplinary skills, and universities have an essential role in supplying this competence. Engineering Education 4.0 has therefore been introduced as a means of meeting the demands of Industry 4.0, by making technology accessible in a pedagogic environment. This paper introduces an Industry 4.0 Idea Lab for bridging design and automatic manufacturing in Engineering Education 4.0. The Idea Lab is presented within the Learning-Factory-Curriculum-guide, including lab facilities and overview, teaching modules, and specific student development projects. Evaluation of the role of the Idea Lab with respect to design for automatic manufacturing is evaluated with a survey. It was found that a low entry level to the lab is important for students’ learning, and that the lab facilities tightens the interactions between local industry, students and university.