This article introduces an initiative aimed at improving university-level education, carried out in the context of the Erasmus Plus IE3 project and focused on the renewal of courses in an industrial management master, driven by the need to incorporate new technological aspects, such as digitalization and Industry 4.0. The intention was also to promote a methodological change in the learning process by concentrating on practical project development, paying special attention to the needs of a whole new generation of learners and its particularities. This analysis builds on papers presented at previous INTED conferences that created the competency framework and methodological approach.

The paper provides added value by discussing the integrated implementation between theoretical and practical aspects when learners must cooperate with students who do not take part in the course to complete industrial projects. Furthermore, the authors assess both the theoretical knowledge acquired by the learners and their practical performance, while also considering the relationship between them. The learners' perspective, gathered through video testimonies and surveys, is significant, given that they are participants in the education, and serves to point out possible strengths and weaknesses of the initiative, with the aim to further improve this approach.

Based on the elements introduced, on the methodology and collected results, some conclusions will be formulated in order to assess the proposed approach, as well as to identify improving vectors to be considered. Recommendations in the context of the IE3 project will also be formulated.

The ongoing fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0), permeates the worldwide economies of most industrialized areas. From the shop floor to the research & innovation level, a critical mass of knowledge workers is required to benefit from the great, mostly unexplored, potentialities of I4.0 technologies.

Educating a critical mass of thousands of knowledge / talented workers is the most extensive higher education challenge Europe is facing.

An increasing qualitative and quantitative gap between demand and supply of knowledge workers is threatening the chance of success of the re-industrialization of Europe.

The main objective of the IE3 project is to design and test innovative courses in Industrial Engineering and Management (IE&M). By introducing cutting-edge learning techniques and tools, the project will support the future generation of knowledge workers. Testing and sharing pilot solutions by the IE3 project will systematically support the development, updating, or re-design of university courses/programs in IE&M throughout Europe.

The Body of Knowledge (BoK) for Higher Education in Industrial Engineering and Management is the reference document to support conceptual and implementation processes of designing, updating, or re-designing university master-level programs or course modules in IE&M.

The BoK defines Guidelines supporting the renewal processes of IE&M master-level education in Europe and disseminates IE3 project outcomes, giving value to practical experience carried out by project partners during the project development.

The BoK is not only a methodology, but it represents the foundation upon which Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can develop their strategies, policies, procedures, and tools to renew courses and programs in an evolving environment. The Bok refers to contents and knowledge constantly evolving according to a rolling re-design approach.

The good practice identified through two years of activity within the COLISEE project is valuable since these activities have produced practical examples which can be analyzed, and pathways which can be followed, but not models which can be reproduced, given the fact that the local context and environment vary so much from one university to another. The authors of this booklet are aware that there is a long way for each university to go if they want to develop a true digital culture and overcome the well documented resistance to change. However, the contribution of the project in terms of the digital resources identified and made available to a varied public (students, university teachers etc.) is substantial given the fact that the digital resources which have been evaluated, developed (e.g. MOOCs) and tested within the bounds of the COLISEE project are numerous and respond to a real need. The effort expended by the authors on this piece of team work has centered on the three key competences of the project but also of the forthcoming Master’s programme (plurilingualism and corporate culture).

Concluding Remarks

As we reach the end of this booklet on ‘The use of Digital Resources in University Programmes’, it is worth noting both the limitations of this piece of collaborative work and the contributions it has made, especially in terms of the sustainability of the project and the anticipated impact of the COLISEE project deliverables. Its limitations lie in the fact that it cannot lay any claim to have come up with a model which others can follow. The good practice identified through two years of activity within the COLISEE project is valuable since these activities have produced practical examples which can be analyzed, and pathways which can be followed, but not models which can be reproduced, given the fact that the local context and environment vary so much from one university to another. The authors of this booklet are aware that there is a long way for each university to go if they want to develop a true digital culture and overcome the well documented resistance to change. However, the contribution of the project in terms of the digital resources identified and made available to a varied public (students, university teachers etc.) is substantial given the fact that the digital resources which have been evaluated, developed (e.g. MOOCs) and tested within the bounds of the COLISEE project are numerous and respond to a real need. The effort expended by the authors on this piece of team work has centered on the three key competences of the project but also of the forthcoming Master’s programme (plurilingualism and corporate culture).

The students from the various universities who follow this Master’s course will be able to develop each of the three competences autonomously as well as develop familiarity with the use of new technologies. The university teachers who participate in the Master’s will be able to enrich their own professional practice so long as they make the effort to undertake training and to question their own practices. Overall, this good practice guide fully meets one of the outcomes expected from the COLISEE project.