Didactic Equipment for Engineering Education

Quality and expressiveness of an awarded engineering degree is mostly associated with the international reputation acquired by hightech research activities of the concerned technical university. Beside this outstanding criterion there is another important aspect which determines quality: A basic engineering education on high-level throughout the first terms of an engineering student curriculum. This target will be best achieved by implementation of specially designed didactic equipment with a strong focus on working with real hardware. The approach here is definitely hands-on. Properties and requirements of didactic systems differ substantially from those of research equipment. Key characteristics are the ease of setup, the use of industrial components, a clearly pre-defined range of experiments and learning objectives as well as a robust design for long term reliable use. Demands from the industry and EU prove the case for existence of such didactic equipment. Obstacles for a broadly based launch are the lack of available information as well as difficulties to raise capital. Consequently the EU is providing various funds for this purpose especially for the new member states. The methodological concept of G.U.N.T.’s didactic equipment will be exemplary visualized by means of a universal material tester.