Innovative teaching scenarios for the world of work 4.0

The increasing and ongoing digitization of business processes and models in the economy is changing the demands placed on current and future employees. Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences is working to reflect this in its innovative teaching and to educate students to be competent professionals with a deep understanding of new technologies in the context of Industry 4.0. To this end, the team led by project manager and Dean Prof. Keil is developing new teaching and learning scenarios. To ensure that these scenarios are practical, the existing collaboration with two experts from industry and academia was further strengthened through guest lectures and working meetings. On May 27 and 28, 2019, the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management welcomed a very special guest. Michael Spitzer from the Virtual Vehicle Research Center in Graz is an expert in the field of “Extended Reality” — and is collaborating with Dean Prof. Keil and her research group on the European research project “iDev40” (Integrated Development 4.0) to design the workplaces of the future (“Workplaces 4.0”).

The focus of the working meeting was on use cases for the Microsoft HoloLens in production. These mixed-reality glasses not only allow the user to display 3D projections in their immediate surroundings but also to interact with these virtual objects. For this purpose, Mr. Spitzer had prepared a HoloLens with applications programmed specifically for this purpose. Faculty W aims to increase cooperation in this area and test various application scenarios, initially with students and later with employees from partner companies. These HoloLens applications will then be integrated into the faculty’s teaching programs and into the design of digitally enhanced workplaces.

To this end, a pre-test was first conducted with six students from three faculties (Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). The students were asked to assemble a Lego model of a planetary gear using various sets of instructions to determine how the type of instruction affects the assembly process. The study compared paper instructions, video instructions, and instructions delivered via the Microsoft HoloLens. The findings from the pre-test are now being incorporated into the design of a series of experiments using the successor model to the Microsoft HoloLens.

In addition to further professional exchanges with colleagues from the faculty, Mr. Spitzer also gave a guest lecture on the “Use of Augmented Reality in Vehicle Development and Production” using a live demonstration on the Microsoft HoloLens. The event was very good in terms of attendance, with students, colleagues, and the general public all attending.

On June 20, the faculty welcomed Dr. Germar Schneider from Infineon. He works in semiconductor manufacturing in Dresden and is an expert in automation and digitalization.

First, in the morning, Professor Keil and her research group met with Dr. Schneider to continue working on innovative teaching and learning scenarios. The research group wasn’t the only one to benefit from his expertise; in the early afternoon, students also had the opportunity to attend a guest lecture. The lecture covered topics including automation, the fundamentals of the semiconductor market and manufacturing, research and development in the high-tech industry, as well as the opportunities and risks of digitalization for the future world of work and businesses.

We extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Spitzer and Dr. Schneider for the time and expertise they shared with the faculty, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration on joint research projects.

The iDev40 project has received funding from the ECSEL Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 783163. The JU is supported by the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and is co-funded by the consortium partners as well as funding from Austria, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Romania. The project coordinator is Infineon Technologies Austria AG.