Abstract:

Achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally requires extensive research into the potential of Industry 4.0 as a catalyst for their achievement, with a particular focus on engineering education. This highlights the urgency of training engineers who not only possess expertise in emerging technologies but also a solid understanding of the principles for forging a sustainable and equitable future. However, a gap has been identified in the scientific literature regarding the systematic articulation between Industry 4.0 technologies and the SDGs within the framework of engineering education, which hinders the foundation and justification of the necessary curricular reforms in this area. Therefore, this research adopted a two-phase methodology to analyze the integration of Industry 4.0 and the SDGs in engineering education. The first phase consisted of a bibliometric analysis, using a systematic search strategy in the Web of Science (WOS) database to collect 85 engineering education articles that met strict inclusion criteria related to the 2030 Agenda competencies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The second phase subsequently focused on developing a strategic alignment matrix that connects Industry 4.0 technologies with each SDG, translating their impact into essential competencies for the future engineer. This provides a referenced and replicable guide for curricular reform in higher education. The study directly contributes to academics, engineering program designers, and university institutions by providing the necessary foundation to coherently integrate Industry 4.0 and the SDGs into the training of future engineers. Future research could empirically validate the effectiveness of a competency framework that synergizes Industry 4.0 and the SDGs in engineering through case studies. It is also recommended to explore innovative teaching strategies and design specialized laboratories to facilitate the acquisition of these skills in cooperative contexts.

Keywords:

Industry 4.0, sustainable development, competencies, engineering education.