![]() Since the 1990s the concept has spread widely with increasing use of Learning Factories, particularly in Europe and especially in Germany. The Penn State Learning Factory has continued to operate ever since, and by 2020 had completed more than 2,750 projects with some 13,000 students. The concept is generally recognised as having originated in the USA in the mid-1990s when the National Science Foundation awarded a consortium led by Penn State University a grant to develop a ‘Learning Factory’. A college-wide infrastructure and a large facility were equipped with machines, materials and tools that could be used to support industry-sponsored design projects. The same Learning Factory is often used for multiple purposes, and facilities that link research and innovation with teaching and training can be a particularly effective model for the transfer of new skills and ways of working needed for adoption of new technologies. They can support a range of learning uses: applied research and innovation projects with industry further and higher education training of technicians and managers trainer training demonstrating technology to SMEs or to teachers, careers advisers and pupils wider marketing. Learning Factories can be owned and run by universities, technical colleges, centres of innovation, individual companies, or groups of companies. The facility may be physical or virtual, or a blended combination. It generally involves multiple machines or operations which can be flexibly reconfigured, and can extend to include supply chains and customer services. ![]() It is not a simple duplicate of an industrial factory but designed to best suit and serve an intended experiential learning process. A learning factory is designed to facilitate experiential learning, practical projects and collaborative problem solving. Imagine an industrial adventure playground rather than a classroom.Īt its simplest, the concept of a ‘Learning Factory’ refers to a facility with aspects of an authentic production environment designed and used primarily for the purpose of learning. So what is a ‘Learning Factory‘?įor some people the term can conjure up a negative image, like a school that is a rote learning production line for exams. The concept is not particularly familiar here, and is sometimes misunderstood, but the new needs and opportunities thrown up by the pandemic could mean it is an approach that’s time has come. So what role might Learning Factories play in responding to the mounting economic and jobs crisis following in the wake of the COVID lockdown, and in turning this moment into an opportunity to build a world class further education system?ĭuring the lockdown I have been working on a study, commissioned by the Gatsby Foundation with support from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, to look at the potential of Learning Factories in UK. These play an important role in linking together their innovation and technical education systems, and in supporting SMEs to adopt the digital technologies often referred to as ‘Industry 4.0’. One lesser known feature of the German system is an extensive network of facilities described as ‘ Learning Factories’. The recent speech from on #FEReform indicated that the autumn White Paper would set out plans “to build a world class, German-style further education system in Britain, and level up skills and opportunities.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |