Advanced Automation for SMEs in the I4.0 Revolution: Engineering Education and Employees Training in the Smart Mini Factory Laboratory

Industry 4.0 is currently changing the shop-floor of many large manufacturing companies. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also increasingly concerned with the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies and methods. This requires a great change of employees, creating a strong demand for training and further education for existing workers. The qualification of employees of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as engineering students can take place, for example, in learning factories where a revised educational paradigm is implemented. In this paper, the experiences and results we have learnt with the implementation of specific trainings and educational activities for advanced automation in the Smart Mini Factory Laboratory of the Free University of Bolzano are explained and discussed.