A Learning Arena

for

Developing competences for the next generation students of industrial

management

Jens Ove Riis

Aalborg Universitet Denmarkriis@production.aau.dk

Jens O Riis

Challenges to Industrial Companies

• Industrial enterprises must operate in a dynamic and complex world with many unforeseeable elements

• The Manufuture report ”A Vision for 2020”:– From resource-based to knowledge-based production

– From linearity to complexity

– From individual competition to systemic competition

– From mono-disciplinarity to trans-disciplinarity

– From top-down to bottom-up production

• Are we preparing our engineering students for the new industrial reality?

Jens O Riis

Also universities are challenged• Danish companies hire engineers from abroad

• We need to develop competences that are needed – Understanding the global context of industrial enterprise

– A deep knowledge of relevant theories and methods

– Being able to cooperate with others on solving complex problems, including• Analysis and diagnosis, e.g. the mutual interplay in a

company• Developing innovative and integrated solutions• Planning implementation

– Capability of developing own competences

• A shift of focus from teaching courses to staging learning processes– This calls for development of new learning modes

Jens O Riis

• However, universities are in many ways conservative organizations– To introduce radically new learning modes requires

courage, endurance and luck

• Last year’s discussion in Grenoble gave rise to optimism– Several members of AIM have seen the challenges to

universities and have initiated interesting and new learning developments• Problem-based learning, experimental learning,

e.g. games, developing innovative solutions

• An idea: Could we establish a forum for stimulating development of new learning modes?

Jens O Riis

A Learning Arena

• A Learning Arena should– stimulate exchange of ideas and experience among

teachers who have already developed new learning modes

– inspire and support other teachers to initiate changes

• Possible elements– An interactive website

– Workshops, seminars or special tracks at conferences

– An organizational unit for coordinating the exchange of learning material• Reflection and evaluation of experiences should

be included

Jens O Riis

Guiding principles for realizing the idea

• Clear focus on learning modes for new competences– We should not establish a website with traditional

curricula, course outlines and overhead presentations

• An open network– AIM could sponsor the initiative, but it should be

open to all interested faculty member

• User-driven and agile development– Start with a small group of dedicated people and the

exchange of their experiences

– Let it grow in accordance with their interests and the reception from others

Jens O Riis

• Drawing on and cooperating with other initiatives– Global Education in Manufacturing (Asbjørn Rolstadås

et al.)

– GALA – Game and Learning Alliance (Riitta Smeds et al.)

– Advanced Production Management Systems, the IFIP Working Group 5.7

• What is next?– Is the idea worth pursuing?

– Are there members of AIM who would be interested in developing the idea?

Jens O Riis