5G-Enabled Education 4.0: Enabling Technologies, Challenges, and Solutions

New technologies such as mobile phones, social media and artificial intelligence, have significant impacts on every aspect of education, where digital connectivity is the foundation to support the way people learn. Current Internet and pre-5G cellular communication networks can deliver visual and auditory data, which enable distance/virtual learning. However, remote physical interaction between students and learning facilities, which is an essential part of a new education paradigm i.e., Education 4.0, is still missing. The 5G cellular network with excellent latency and reliability performance would be a game changer by enabling students to feel the physical objects and control them remotely. In this paper, we identify and discuss the unique opportunities the 5G networks can bring to Education 4.0, their technical challenges and potential solutions. We also showcase our Education 4.0 prototype of remote lab.