The challenges of teaching design in the 21st century, the age of the fourth industrial revolution

Abstract

There is an ever-growing demand from industry for qualified design engineers. Many of these design engineers are trained at universities and colleges. This paper will explore how to keep this training as up to date and relevant as possible. It will look at the modern techniques and methods used by world-leading industries during the 21st Century. This century, known also as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or the Information Technology Revolution. It will show how these techniques and methods can be applied in academia. A challenge is also highlighted, how to get students to design to industry standards but at the same time make it possible to assess their work to satisfy the needs of academia and awarding bodies. These modern techniques and methods will be applied to actual university students and an assessment made of the results. Use of group working will be explored and an algorithm developed to grade the completed group work. What do students need now to equip them to become competent designers, and what will they need soon?