Case study demonstrates effective integration of Industry 4.0 technologies in engineering projects, enhancing experiential learning and skills.
The rapid advancement of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation is significantly impacting various sectors. Enabling digital technologies, such as big data, machine learning, and the Internet of Things, is becoming increasingly prevalent in industry. However, engineering curricula often fail to keep pace with these swift changes. This study, grounded in Kolb’s experiential learning theory, investigates the integration of enabling digital technologies into final academic projects for industrial engineering students to enhance their competencies through practical experience with affordable technologies. It presents a case study on the design of access control systems using Android, NFC, and Arduino. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, two projects are highlighted: one implementing an integrated parking access control system with NFC payment, and the other focusing on appointment management for access to services. A total of 50 industrial engineering students evaluated both projects, showing a high level of interest and a desire for similar future implementations. The findings indicate that integrating Industry 4.0 technologies into final academic projects effectively bridges the gap between industry requirements and engineering education, enhancing students’ technical skills through experiential learning.
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Belmonte et al. (2025) studied this question.
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