VDI study emphasizes that engineering students are not prepared for Industry 4.0
In view of ever faster innovation cycles, the Association of German Engineers (VDI), for example, is calling for a fundamental reform of engineering education. According to the VDI survey, only 11 percent of the students it questioned said they felt well prepared for the challenges of tomorrow's networked industry - among those entering the workforce, the figure was just 9 percent.
The current survey of the VDI shows that almost all engineering students and young professionals do not feel prepared for the tasks they will face in their future careers. "It is shocking that almost 90 percent of students and young professionals do not feel adequately prepared for the engineering profession and for dealing with modern technologies," says Andreas Hamm of Rockwell Automation.
"Companies and associations need to bring this problem more into their own focus and address it with the vehemence it deserves in this important field. Universities and colleges must also address, through the design of their teaching, the fact that only 11 percent of students and 9 percent of those entering the profession feel up to the demanding work of being an engineer. The demands on the engineering profession are increasing every day and static curricula further exacerbate this deplorable state of affairs.
The training of future generations of engineers must be oriented towards project-oriented learning and take place in close cooperation with leading companies in the industry. Rockwell Automation therefore supports new approaches in education and works together with Heilbronn University, among others, to teach students how to work with modern technologies and machines together with their professors. But solutions like our FactoryTalk Team ONE app also provide engineers who are already in the workforce with plenty of expertise to keep them up to date."
"What is also still unsatisfactory is the willingness of professors to adapt to the requirements of the digital transformation," rued VDI Director Ralph Appel. The Vice President of Munich University of Applied Sciences, Professor Klaus Kreulich, also called for structural reform with project-oriented learning and, above all, curricula that could also be adapted at short notice. Instead of temporary support programs, a sustainable basic support is necessary in the future. (Source: Rockwell Automation)
