Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 South African Government, Department of Science and Innovation, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa.
2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Palapye, Botswana.
Abstract
All engineering graduates must possess specific essential competencies when leaving universities to transition to the industry or be successful in the world of work. This paper adopts a literature review approach to synthesise available secondary data regarding creating harmony among engineering disciplines. It uses the illustration of a vending machine to indicate how various engineering disciplines could be harmonised through the Learning Factory platform. Moreover, it provides some ideas for harmonising engineering disciplines. The main findings of this work suggest that the Learning Factory concept is a critical ideology that is worth implementing, especially by developing. The Learning Factory environment can produce well-rounded graduates capable of applying technical and non-technical skills to solve community challenges, including being entrepreneurial and innovative to drive economic growth and development. The paper concludes by providing insights demonstrating that the concept of a Learning Factory can also be utilized for addressing other engineering and industrial-related challenges.
Keywords
- Harmonization of engineering disciplines
- Learning factory
- Vending machine
- Industry– ready graduates
- Knowledge transfer
- Problem-solving
- Engineering education
Main Subjects
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