Title: Researchers design conceptions of e-learning courses targeting industry practitioners' competence needs

Authors: Monika Hattinger

Addresses: Department of Engineering Science, University West, 461 86 Trollhättan, Sweden

Abstract: This paper addresses two overall challenges that concern university research teachers' professional identities when they make design plans for blended e-learning courses targeting practitioners' competence needs. Research teachers' are challenged by finding applicable learning material that matches practitioners' experiences and workplace knowledge demands. They are also challenged when they need to digitise engineering learning content such as virtual labs, and machine-related cases such as turning and milling aligning to workplace needs. Design plans used for campus education is argued to be insufficient meeting these challenges. Consequently, researchers' professional identities become vulnerable when they cross boundaries between university and industry practices. Results show that even if researchers are not trained for educational e-learning design they identify concepts for digitising cases and labs. By applying a work-integrated learning strategy, the courses integrate practical and theoretical tasks and cases collected from the manufacturing industry workplaces and thereby support competence development.

Keywords: researchers design conceptions; e-learning courses; industry practitioners; competence needs; professional identity; design; workplace knowledge; engineering learning; boundary crossing; manufacturing industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2018.098076

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2018 Vol.28 No.3/4, pp.235 - 254

Received: 18 Apr 2017
Accepted: 28 Jun 2018
Published online: 01 Mar 2019 *

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