Research Problems: A Pathway to Introduce Industry 4.0 in Undergraduate Education

Mahesh Kumar Pallikonda; Ravi C. Manimaran,

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Technical Session 6
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology Division (ETD)
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44122
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44122
Download Count: 134

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Paper Authors

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Mahesh Kumar Pallikonda Austin Peay State University

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Dr Pallikonda is an Assistant Professor in the department of Engineering Technology at Austin Peay State University, TN, USA. He has a cumulative Industry, Research and Teaching experiences of over 10 years. His research interests lie at the interface of Manufacturing and Material Science, Pedagogy and Industry 4.0.

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Ravi C. Manimaran, Department Chair, Engineering Technology Austin Peay State University

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Ravi C Manimaran is Professor and Chair of the Department of Engineering Technology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee. His education includes two Master of Science degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Electronics and Control Engineering. He has been actively involved in higher education leadership in various capacities as a Dean, Department Chair, PI, Project Director, and a faculty member since 1997. He has served as the PI / Project Director for multiple agencies including NSF, DOL, DOD and Perkin’s Grant. His research interests include Industrial Automation Systems, VLSI, ASIC, and FPGA. Other areas of interest are Higher Education Leadership and Accreditation including ABET.

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Abstract

Industry 4.0 is a new paradigm in the technology world. Given the labor shortages and growing demand for high quality and precision in products, the need for intelligent and smart manufacturing is more than ever. The global trend indicates the next generation workforce should be able to work collaboratively with technology. Students who aspire to work in/with industry need to adapt to the new technologies before they join the workforce. Albeit the need to incorporate Industry 4.0 skillset in students, not all universities have adequate resources in this pursuit. Meanwhile, a contingency plan of incorporating research problems within the realm of Industry 4.0 in the coursework will assist students in gaining skills and familiarize themselves with Industry 4.0. In addition, it enables students to stay contemporary with the industry standards.

Through this project a set of research problems in the realm of Industry 4.0 are presented to the students. Research problems are selected broadly from the domain of Industry 4.0 which includes current and emerging technologies. Students are also given the opportunity to select the topics, however, they need to receive the instructor’s approval. During the project, students conduct literature reviews on the selected topics. The cohort size of the pilot class is 23 students; ten teams with two students each, and one team with three students. The objectives and deliverables of the project are clearly stated in advance to keep students informed. The objective of this project is to incorporate Industry 4.0 skills and knowledge to the students in addition to learn the methods to stay current in industry. The project deliverables are (1) students will present their work to the rest of the class, and (2) submit a reflective paper on their experience. This paper will discuss the setup of research problems, survey results of the student experience before and after working on the project, and summary of findings on the student experience from the reflective papers. Reflective papers work as a tool both to summarize the student experience and for continuous improvement in context with this project for future studies.

Citation
Format

Pallikonda, M. K., & Manimaran,, R. C. (2023, June), Research Problems: A Pathway to Introduce Industry 4.0 in Undergraduate Education Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44122

TY - CPAPER
AB - Industry 4.0 is a new paradigm in the technology world. Given the labor shortages and growing demand for high quality and precision in products, the need for intelligent and smart manufacturing is more than ever. The global trend indicates the next generation workforce should be able to work collaboratively with technology. Students who aspire to work in/with industry need to adapt to the new technologies before they join the workforce. Albeit the need to incorporate Industry 4.0 skillset in students, not all universities have adequate resources in this pursuit. Meanwhile, a contingency plan of incorporating research problems within the realm of Industry 4.0 in the coursework will assist students in gaining skills and familiarize themselves with Industry 4.0. In addition, it enables students to stay contemporary with the industry standards.

Through this project a set of research problems in the realm of Industry 4.0 are presented to the students. Research problems are selected broadly from the domain of Industry 4.0 which includes current and emerging technologies. Students are also given the opportunity to select the topics, however, they need to receive the instructor’s approval. During the project, students conduct literature reviews on the selected topics. The cohort size of the pilot class is 23 students; ten teams with two students each, and one team with three students. The objectives and deliverables of the project are clearly stated in advance to keep students informed. The objective of this project is to incorporate Industry 4.0 skills and knowledge to the students in addition to learn the methods to stay current in industry. The project deliverables are (1) students will present their work to the rest of the class, and (2) submit a reflective paper on their experience. This paper will discuss the setup of research problems, survey results of the student experience before and after working on the project, and summary of findings on the student experience from the reflective papers. Reflective papers work as a tool both to summarize the student experience and for continuous improvement in context with this project for future studies.
AU - Mahesh Kumar Pallikonda
AU - Ravi C. Manimaran, Department Chair, Engineering Technology
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Research Problems: A Pathway to Introduce Industry 4.0 in Undergraduate Education
UR - https://peer.asee.org/44122
DO - 10.18260/1-2--44122
ER -