Application of industrial methods in engineering education

Abstract

Modern trends and challenges like an increased level of product complexity and reduced time for development require new, improved skills for future employees. Potential industrial methods based on early project planning, interdisciplinary product solutions and a systematic preparation for production are researched and presented within this paper. Future employees need to understand the processes and methods of product implementation and production. Especially the last stages of product development require additional attention, since these are the most challenging phases regarding integration and implementation starting from initial prototyping up to a functional product. Industrial feedback proves, that these skills are not taught in an appropriate extend by todays academic education, concluding that todays’ graduates are not well prepared for tomorrow’s job challenges. Following the gaps in today’s education a student project lecture was developed, that teaches and applies industry-related development methods addressing advanced master students. Focus of the related student project includes a constant review of project management practices in industrial design reviews, as well as the gathering and definition of requirements. In addition to this, development methods for functional prototypes are taught and applied. Especially the actual creation of prototypes is addressing the product integration and testing phase. To present the above-mentioned methods and an innovative testing environment, two successfully applied use cases are described within this paper. These are covering the entire development process starting from early requirements gathering, accompanied by model-based system engineering.