INDUSTRY 4.0 Vs EDUCATION 1.0 –Bridging the gap

The emergence of Industry 4.0 version focusing on “Smart Manufacturing” has put the entire spectrum of manufacturing industries on their toes. This next generation version is not a mere value addition of technology, but the meaningful use of technology to make systems simple, scalable and synergetic. The deliverance of quality being the undercurrent, the precepts and practices address to management of competition and sustainability and scaleability of the processes. There is a paradigm shift in communication processes from machine-human interface to machine-machine interface so that the sponteity of solutions are aggressive and assured. The specialists in the field are looking at the three dimensions of the technology – existing technologies, disruptive technologies and future technologies.

All the above and much more undefined and unpredicted growth patterns would reposition the human interventions to critical solutions and would call for better skills, better conceptual safety and interactive knowledge clouds working in tandem. The skill sets the industries require will be more nebulous and continuously formative. The focus will be learnability and trainability.

Education 1.0 version firmly based on the knowledge domain has so far not opened up to skill integration adequately. The absence of skill sets in learning platforms and the redundant skill sets at several skill labs present a sad state of the current scenario. How would this system cope with the futuristic demands of the new generation industries?

What needs to be done?

1. The Education policies need to be more pragmatic, realistic, futuristic and flexible to facilitate learnability.

2. The “mind sets” that govern examination and evaluation need to be differently articulated to test the core aptitudes, the capacity consumption of knowledge and skills, the talents for the transfer of knowledge and skills.

3. Technology in educational systems should be repositioned as tools for learnability, expansion and expression of knowledge and skills, rather than additional disciplines of learning.

4. Serious attention on encouraging enterprise and creativity supported by risk assurance should be given to the learning community.

5. Lateral and vertical mobility for knowledge and skill acquisition should be incorporated to encourage acquisiton and transfer of learning at a chosen pace.

6. Industry- education networks and learning hubs should be formed for both online and offline learning experiences at minimal costs, if need be.

7. Joint and programed certification of knowledge and skill sets by educational organizations with industrial and business houses could be initiated to ensure credibile and concurrent skills rather than redundant ones grafted in the age old curricula.

8.”The Mass rally syndrome” needs to give space for “individual and personal growth”

9. The concept of quality needs to be incorporated in the learning rooms right from the formative stage so that it becomes a second habit.

10. The skills for identifying, facing and managing competitons and sustainability of the enterprises could be taught both through case studies and experiential learning.

The challenges are many. But there appears to be no options but to move in this direction without compromising the basics of core values.