Numerical simulation in the manufacturing and process industries

Project coordinator
University of Wales Swansea, Great Britain.

Partners
IMK Automotive, Germany; University of Milano Bicocca, Italy; Politechnika Warszawska, Poland; Atilim University, Turkey; PHYSICA Ltd, Germany; NORM AS, Turkey.

Aim of project
The specific aim of the project is twofold: on the one hand, to improve the employability of technicians in the process sector, supplying them with skills in line with market requirements; and on the other hand, to improve the competitiveness of the European process and manufacturing industry, which is greatly threatened by Asian competition, in particular. The results of this twofold aim will be realized through the following intermediate objectives:
Identification of the needs of the European process and manufacturing industry in the numerical experimentation sector. Definition of the professional figure in question must in fact set out from the specifi c needs of the sector industry. Only in this way will it be possible to train professionals with a high employability rating, while at the same time improving the competitiveness of sector companies;

Definition of the curriculum of the simulation expert for the “process and manufacturing” sector, setting down the skills that sector technicians must possess;

Identification of a formal learning itinerary capable of training the professional figure in question. Having established the skills that a simulation expert in the process industry sector must possess, suitable training programs must be fi ne-tuned. These must set out from the instruction normally imparted at universities and higher technical colleges, integrating it with training modules cut out for specific sector needs;

Establish a method of skill certification shared by all the partners. One of the objectives of this project is that the qualification “simulation expert for the process and manufacturing industry” should be effectively valid at the European level. To achieve this it is necessary that there be an effectively shared method of skills certification, separate from the possession of determined qualifications valid only at the national level. We must therefore draw up a certification system, subdivided in training credits, which demonstrates that the person in question has reached the determined level.

Validation of the proposed curriculum through the creation of training modules suitable for implementing certain skills strategic for the simulation expert in the process industry sector.

Expected results
This project aims at developing the following products:

A methodological manual shared by all the partners for analysis of skills and training needs for the process industry simulation expert;

A report containing the results of skills analysis and formal training necessary for improving the competence of the process industry sector simulation expert;

A draft of the standard Curriculum for the process industry sector simulation expert;

A model of certification for these skills;

Creation of training modules regarding certain strategic skills for the process industry simulation expert;

Project website.