“We lost the first half of digitization”
Timotheus Höttges,
CEO of Deutsche Telekom.
As one of the strongest economies in Europe, it is surprising that not many German companies made it to the list of the top 100 companies in the world when ranked according to market capitalization. In fact, just one German company (SAP) is on the list!
Germany is well known for strong engineering architecture and world-leading car manufacturing firms. This is what makes me confident that we will have the chance to win the second half – the digitization of the industry.
Why is robotics education important?
The new era of digitization presents another opportunity for German companies to win the second half, if only today’s engineering and manufacturing firms make a shift towards digital engineering. We are still far behind in the methods used to train the younger generation today and this is a key factor in determining the results we expect to see in the near future.
The pre-requisites laid down by the present-day engineering and manufacturing firms are strong enough to give us a good boost in the second half but without making this necessary shift to digital education, we simply cannot win.
In order to bridge the gap between the status quo and our digitization goals, there are certain actions that need to be taken:
Integrate the required technical knowledge into educational systems at various levels
School curriculums should include content around new digital innovations as they are being developed within the industry.
For instance, robots should be made accessible to the younger generation not just technically but also from an emotional point of view. Currently, robots are still perceived as complex and dangerous equipment. Hence, they are only accessible to people from a certain age.
However, with the development of collaborative robots (cobots), robots can now work hand in hand with humans of all ages.
What’s more, modern technologies such as Wandelbots Teaching, make robot programming as easy as mobile gaming. This means that robots can now be accessible to everyone and should no longer be seen as mere machines only usable by experts on shop floors.
Educate tomorrow's robotics experts
Start with those who will launch their careers in the industry within the next decade. Industrial robot users are beginning to shift from traditional robot programming methods to no-code robotics. In the same way, traditional robot programming experts are becoming scarcer than ever before.
Therefore, we need to act now and equip the younger generation with the knowledge required to transform the industry in the second half such as the use of modern robot teaching software and no-code solutions.
Establish participating vocational schools as thought leaders and early adopters
The vocational schools that incorporate digital education into their systems early on should be recognized as thought leaders, producing highly skilled graduates with the right digital knowledge needed to excel in the industry.
Build a strong ecosystem of industry and education
Industrial growth is highly dependent on education. Therefore, winning the second half of digitization is more feasible when both worlds collaborate effectively. Educational leaders must always be up to date on the needs of the industry, not just for today but for the future. These needs must be incorporated into the system as early as possible.
Final thoughts
We are well-equipped to win the second half of digitization, starting now.
With Wandelbots Teaching for everyone, including school children, can easily work with robots and become robotics experts. Our solution enables robot-teaching by mere demonstration, without writing a single line of programming code.
To make it even easier to adopt robots in schools and universities, we offer a special discounted license of our product for educational institutions.
Together with our partners, we can also set up your full robot cell at your institution and train students on how to use it.
