Abstract:

The Higher Technical School of Mining and Energy Engineering of the Technical University of Madrid is working on the transformation of an educational laboratory to improve educational issues on Industry4.0. It is an experience-oriented to the education of new engineers, that will evolve professionally in an Industry4.0 environment, through the implementation of the Educational Innovative Lab concept.

Industrial revolutions have always meant a big change in all sectors. Industry 4.0 brings new aspects and innovations that companies must incorporate to remain competitive. The new engineers being educated today will need to broaden their knowledge, not only having to be knowledgeable about their sector but also needing innovative knowledge.

Educational Innovative Labs are an opportunity to prepare these new generations of engineers in the skills and capabilities demanded by 4.0. These will be the same skills that companies will demand to remain competitive and relevant in the industry. Therefore, these laboratories are conceived to allow future professionals to expand their knowledge and learning more practically through the use and integration of new technological tools for industry.

This paper describes an educational project that is being developed as part of the development of the MEITIM Project with the support of EIT Raw Materials, one of the eight Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) initiated by the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology), funded by the European Commission, and whose mission is to help boost the competitiveness, growth, and attractiveness of the European raw materials sector through radical innovation and guided entrepreneurship. In this paper, implication derived from the Industry 4.0 concept and innovations associated are described, to show how the Educational Innovative Lab helps students to acquire and develop skills and knowledge addressed to this competitive environment.

The development of a highly skilled workforce in an Industry 4.0 environment through the use of Educational Innovative Labs is aligned with the efforts to shift the European competitiveness and employment by encouraging and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in students.

Keywords:

Student development, Program development, Engineering studies, Innovation, entrepreneurship skills, Educational Innovative Lab, Industry 4.0.