Education 4.0 (E 4.0).

The way Industrial Revolution 4.0 is transforming the world, technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Robotics, 3D Printing , AR& VR and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are impacting major industries, and in turn, jobs. It can be considered similar to the replacement of manual jobs by machine-handled tasks that occurred as a revolution in the 21st Century. This implies that Industry 4.0 will not only affect industries but consequently will transform the way jobs and education will be seen. This will result in the evolution of education 4.0.

Thus, it can be said that the fourth industrial revolution will affect the roles for which today’s students will be prepared. This will require educational institutions to produce a workforce for working in this technologically transformed era. Further, it will also require the current workforce to upgrade their skills and knowledge to match these newly created job roles. For this, a revolution in education is essential to enable people worldwide to harness the opportunities created by the advent of these technologies.

1. It will cater to the need of Industry 4.0 enabling the workforce and machines to align to explore new possibilities.
2. It will deploy the potential of digital technologies, open-sourced content and personalised data of this globally connected and tech-driven world.
3. It will create a blueprint for the future of learning – from school-based learning to learning at the workplace.

What is Education 4.0?

1. Education 4.0 is a desired approach to learning that aligns itself with the emerging fourth industrial revolution.
2. This industrial revolution focuses on smart technology, artificial intelligence, Robotics, IoT, AR & VR and robotics etc; all of which now impact our everyday lives.
3. For universities to continue to produce successful graduates, they must prepare their students for a world where these cyber-physical systems are prevalent across all industries.
4. This means teaching students about this technology as part of the curriculum, changing the approach to learning altogether, and utilizing this technology to better improve the university experience.

Preparing students for evolving industries

1. Cyber-physical systems are steadily becoming more integrated into various industries, inevitably affecting the skills requirements for employees.
2. Due to the fourth industrial revolution 60% of all occupations could potentially have at least a third of their activities automated.
3. However, there is much more to consider than the potential disruption to the hard skills required for various job roles.
4. The fourth industrial revolution will also impact the soft skills that students will need in the future.
5. Some of the soft skills they claim will soon become indispensable include complex problem solving, social skills, and process skills.
6. Technology also allows us to be constantly connected, and as a result, job roles are steadily becoming more flexible and adaptable.
7. Education 4.0 is about evolving with the times, and for higher education institutions, this means understanding what is required of their future graduates.

A new approach to learning

1. By aligning teaching and learning methods with the skills needed in the future, universities can be sure they are successfully preparing their students for the fourth industrial revolution.
2. One method of doing so is by encouraging accelerated remote learning, which is the idea that students will learn theoretical knowledge remotely using digital means, whilst ensuring any practical skills are still learnt face-to-face.
3. This is a more flexible way of learning that requires accountability and good time management; skills that will be relied on due to the rise in the freelance economy.
4. The move towards this way of working will also require students to learn how to adapt quickly to new situations they may face in their evolving careers.
5. Project-based learning highlights the importance of studying a wide set of skills that can then be applied to each scenario, as opposed to sticking to a set of skills directly linked to a specific job role.
6. The approach to exams and assessments will also change, moving away from the traditional method of absorbing and relaying a vast amount of information; skills not as necessary in the future.
7. Of course, the biggest change we are likely to see as part of Education 4.0 is a deeper fusion of technology into the teaching process.
8. The ultimate purpose of utilizing this technology and adopting new methods is to place students at the center of the education process, “shifting the focus from teaching to learning.”

Adapting to new realities

1. Higher education institutions are moving towards a more personalized way of learning.
2. By utilizing data and tracking student performance, universities will be able to identify struggling students and provide optimized learning strategies to suit their needs.
3. Education 4.0 embraces this advance in analytics and uses it to treat each student as an individual, understanding that everyone’s learning needs and desired outcomes will be different.
4. There have also been talks of entirely customizable degrees, whereby a student doesn’t have to pick just one or two subjects to study, but instead can select modules from multiple programs.

Education 4.0 will require gradual paradigm shifts:

1. Demand-led instead of supply-led education
2. Competency-based instead of knowledge-based
3. Incorporate disruptive technologies & skill-sets
4. Lifelong learning instead of front-loaded learning
5. Modular Degree instead of one-shot going
6. Emphasis on EQ than IQ alone
7. Focus on purposefulness, mindfulness leading to overall Happiness & Wellbeing as conclusively established in global research of OECD learning framework2030

Education 4.0 is aimed at improving the productivity of an employee, improving the competitiveness of the industry. It aims to improve the productive and competitive capacity. Such a system where creativity and innovativeness of the human brain are improved will make educated students more prepared for an uncertain and volatile future.

Education 4.0 requires new way of thinking for both the teacher and students. Being a good teacher requires acquiring a large set different kind of interdisciplinary skills. The student today is a digital native who is comfortable with the mobile and computing devices. New skills, new curricula, new teaching, new learning, and new training as well as the flexibility in education are necessary. Due to rapid economic and technological changes, students need to be prepared for jobs that have not yet been created. Education 4.0 needs also a strong partnership between industry and academia in the development of human resources for Industry 4.0

Education 1.0: Limited to few privileged people and governed by informal methods of teaching.

Education 2.0: With the invention of the printing press, knowledge dissemination could be done to the masses through printed books.

Education 3.0: The Internet has provided a platform that has greatly expanded access to education and changed the ways of learning.

Education 4.0: Empowering education to produce innovation through personalization of the learning experience.