Lean and Agile Practices linking Engineering Higher Education toIndustry

Contact:Coordinator

Prof. Dionysis Bochtis

Institute Director

d.bochtis@certh.gr

+30 2311 257651 | +30 2311 257650

iBO | CERTH 6th km CharilaouThermi Rd.

57001 | Thermi | Thessaloniki | Greecewww.ibo.certh.gr | www.certh.gr

BackgroundHigher education prepares learners for their future role asprofessionals and active citizens in multiple ways. Accordingto the Modernization Agenda for Higher Education, thesector faces multiple challenges in its quest to build criticallythinking, creative, and adaptable adults (Vassiliou A.); theseinclude the economic crisis, youth unemployment,integration of new technologies and modes of working, andmore. On the other hand, the Communication on Opening-up Education highlights the need to stimulate innovativeways of teaching and learning through new technologiesand digital content, to alleviate the “new digital divide”which has led to 50-80% of students never using digitalcontent, and to exploit the opportunities of the digitalrevolution in educational contexts.In engineering principles, the knowledge students buildwhile enrolled in higher education may become to a largedegree irrelevant a few years after graduation as a result ofthe fast evolution of technology in innovation relatedsectors. In this context, the capacity to think critically and tolearn-to-learn are as important, if not more, as the baseknowledge developed through formal curricula. In addition,to facilitate an effective transition to the professional worldhigher education must expose students to industry practicesand processes rather than be limited to the development ofcore knowledge. This exposure may be achieved to a certaindegree through specific courses; more effectively, it may beachieved through the integration of industry processes intocurricula thus enabling students to use new skills andcompetencies in a learning environment that simulates theway industry deploys knowledge.

LEAP Overall ObjectiveLEAP aims at building experience and knowledge amonghigher education students on emerging lean and agileindustry practices empowering them to effectively transitioninto the professional world, focusing on engineeringdisciplines. The project further aims at closing the newdigital divide by promoting the development of high qualitydigital content for higher education linked to both academicand industry needs. Lean practices will encourage studentsto design solutions that meet needs while minimizing thedeployment of resources. Agile practices expose students toindustry cycles in which design is integrated throughoutproduction processes, as opposed to only in the early stagesof production, ensuring that the final product effectivelyaddresses consumer needs.LEAP deploys serious games that encourage learners toadopt industry roles, to think critically for addressingcommunity and societal needs through agile engineeringsolutions, to practice on the application of industrial processmanagement in the context of their higher educationcurricula, and to take into account environmentalresponsibility issues in service design and implementation.Recognizing the importance of supporting educators onintegrating the proposed innovative learning methods andtools into their teaching practices LEAP will further developgood practice guidelines and instructor support content.

Project Partners

http://leapproject.eu

Outcome• A lean and agile learning design framework that encourages students to thinkcritically for building engineering solutions that effectively address user needswhile taking into account environmental issues• Proof-of-concept serious games based on scenarios that challenge learners tointroduce solutions to real-world issues through engineering innovation• Educators support content for facilitating the integration of proposedmethods and tools into existing instructional practices• Good practice recommendations for promoting uptake and adoption ofproject results based on evaluation findings

The LEAP learning game is being developed in the form of 3 learningapplications that promote the development of agile and lean skills. Thefollowing games are under development:• The Technical Debt game• The 5S Lean Processes game• The SCRUM Agile Processes simulator game

InnovationIn terms of Educational Objectives:a) the need to align higher education practices to industry needs by updatinghigher education practices with initiatives that exposed students to industrialprocesses, such as agile and lean production designb) the need update higher education practices through technology designed foreducational use, such as serious games, with the objective of bringing highereducation into the digital erac) the need to develop open digital educational resources for free use at thehigher education level for free use in formal and informal learning contexts

At the pedagogical design level:The project introduces an agile, collaborative learning design approach. Agileproduct and service design is highly relevant in industry, and more so insoftware engineering, for ensuring that products and services addresseffectively the needs of end users and society. Agile design refers to productdevelopment in cycles of design, implementation, and evaluation phases;design is revisited several times throughout product development forenhancing the product characteristics based on input from end users. Thisapproach ensures that the final product will more effectively address real worldneeds. In educational contexts, agile learning refers to the design of learningactivities that follow industrial agile product and service design processes.

At the technology-enhanced level:In terms of technical implementation, LEAP will validate the proposed learningmethodological design described above through the design and softwareimplementation of a serious game environment in which learners will beencouraged to design and synthesize solutions that address specific worldneeds. Learners will be encouraged to follow agile and lean product designthrough a serious game that simulates real-world industry processes andexposes learners to innovative thinking mindsets related to deployingtechnology for addressing specific needs of users in a human-centered solutionas well as minimizing production costs through lean processes that conserveresources and respect the environment.

Innovation at the learning intervention level:• LEAP promotes active learning by doing, which has been seen to significantlycontribute to knowledge retention (FAS)• It links gaming to specific learning objectives through scenarios that areinspired by real-world work practices• It contributes to linking learning activities to desired learning outcomesthrough immediate feedback• It promotes knowledge transferability to other subjects through role playingand critical thinking, which is an inherent part of agile design• It encourages entrepreneurial mindsets which are directly linked agileindustrial practices that are inherently user-centered• It promotes long-term engagement with learning through applications thatattract and retain the interest of students

The Technical Dept game

The 5S Lean Processes game

The SCRUM Agile Processes simulator game