University and Industry together to train professionals in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
08th July 2020
The introduction of new technologies in the manufacturing industry, such as advanced material processing, cyber-physical systems or artificial intelligence, is contributing to accelerate the development and modernisation of the industry, making it more efficient, flexible and competitive. As a result, it also brings the need to adapt the training of the professionals in order to better prepare them for this transformation and, in particular, for the current context of open innovation and open science.
Following the current trend of collaboration between companies, higher education and research institutions for the training of professionals, the M-NEST I and the M-NEST-RIS projects aim to implement the operational conditions that will help organisations and individual users to autonomously and intuitively explore, experience and become qualified to work with new technologies in the most diverse production and innovation scenarios – namely technologically demanding sectors with significant added value.
In Portugal, the Factory Unit of the M-NEST network will be implemented in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and will be tested in the facilities of FEUP, the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC) and the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), the entity in charge of coordinating both projects.
“The projects aim at establishing the European M-NEST network, while supporting the training of students, teachers, researchers and industrial professionals, thus providing the necessary tools to build the European industrial community of the future”, said Cláudio Santos, INEGI researcher and coordinator of the M-NEST-I project.
It is estimated that, by 2022, the projects will instruct more than 500 trainees. “Both projects will run as pilot-projects of the network's activities; at this stage, the trainees will be selected by the project partners, but the ultimate goal is having more people and companies benefiting from the defined innovative training schemes as soon as possible”, explained Margarida Machado, researcher at INEGI and coordinator of the M-NEST-RIS.
The M-NEST European network will provide a wide range of training activities focused on the most advanced processing and production technologies, and will support the academic education, advanced training, R&D, technology transfer and dissemination to different audiences and training spaces (from classrooms to factory floors).
The network will also provide access (virtual and face-to-face) to high quality and technology-specific learning materials, contributing to make Advanced Manufacturing Technologies education a stimulating experience for a wider audience.
The projects are funded by EIT Manufacturing, and besides the national partners (FEUP, INEGI and INESC TEC), common to both projects, the following entities participate in the initiatives: ENSAM - Arts et Métiers Paris Tech (France), Aalto University (Finland) and SUPSI - University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (M-NEST-I); CTU - Czech Technical University (Czech Republic), University of Tartu (Estonia) and LMS - Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation of University of Patras (Greece)
More information about the projects at www.m-nest.eu and www.m-nest-ris.eu
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For further inquiries:
Eunice Oliveira
Communication Service
INESC TEC
FEUP Campus
Rua Dr Roberto Frias
4200-465 Porto
Portugal
M +351 934 224 331
eunice.i.oliveira@inesctec.pt
Porto – July 8, 2020