Digital Manufacturing Challenges Education—SmartLab Concept as a Concrete Example in Tackling These Challenges

Maarit Tihinen, Ari Pikkarainen and Jukka Joutsenvaara
Additional contact information
Maarit Tihinen: Master School, Lapland University of Applied Studies, Jokiväylä 11, 96300 Rovaniemi, Finland
Ari Pikkarainen: Mechanical Engineering Degree, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Tietokatu 1, 94600 Kemi, Finland
Jukka Joutsenvaara: The School of Arctic Natural Resources and Economy, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, New Industry, Tietokatu 1, 94600 Kemi, Finland

Future Internet, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: Digitalization is boosting the manufacturing industry’s shift to smart manufacturing systems, which will efficiently utilize the potential of new technologies for their business outcomes and value. However, the literature shows that manufacturing companies have implemented very little digital technology due to a lack of the required knowledge and competences. Increasingly, interconnected, digitalized, and complex processes lead to new skill requirements in companies and thereafter also of their workforce’s training needs to respond to the smart manufacturing’s new great expectations. The article provides concrete examples of tackling challenges in education arising from digital manufacturing. The case study introduced in this article concerns the additive manufacturing (AM) method, which is expected to give rise to significant changes in various industrial fields, including digital manufacturing. Advances in digital manufacturing requires skilled professionals who are aware of the possibilities and potential of the latest technology. Education therefore needs to be developed. This article points out that the built learning and development environment, SmartLab, supports multidisciplinary approaches and close collaboration between several stakeholders like companies, engineering education courses, students, and RDI actors. The SmartLab concept is thus also expected to provide a remarkable competitive advantage for business in the region.

Keywords: digitalization; digital transformation; industrial internet of things; smart manufacturing; additive manufacturing; 3D printing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/13/8/192/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/13/8/192/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jftint:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:192-:d:601373

Access Statistics for this article

Future Internet is currently edited by Ms. Grace You

More articles in Future Internet from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().