The Smart Engineering Curriculum

Abstract

The increasing complexity entailed in training engineers for the Industry 4.0 workplace requires an approach beyond simply cramming more into the curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to problematise the relationship between layers of engineering that constitute the multidisciplinary systems which require contextualised and responsive engagement with data. Using a number of social realist analytical instruments, the forms of knowledge and related practices at different levels within the ‘smart engineering’ curriculum are interrogated and subsequently illustrated so as to guide pedagogic decisions. The intention of the research is primarily to enable students to effectively develop 1) integrated systems-level thinking, and 2) appropriate, interpretative data processing skills. There is a symbiotic and analogical relationship between the design of a curricular framework for the ‘smart engineer’ and the collaborative, interdisciplinary research approach: drawing on multiple perspectives and approaches from the hard and soft sciences enables a more informed educational design process.