Exploring the practical integration of 4IR technologies in industrial design education in South Africa

Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is changing the world around us, altering the way we live, work, and engage with one another. Driven by the Internet of Things (IoT), the 4IR and its associated technologies are driving great shifts in manufacturing and production and as such, within the Industrial Design (ID) discipline itself, not only in the products we design but more notably, in the tools and processes we use to do so. The unprecedented speed at which these innovative technologies are progressing and reshaping the industry calls for the urgent restructuring of higher education curricula. To prepare students for the rapidly changing industry, ID programmes must develop appropriate content and integrate these technologies into their teaching and learning to deliver the skills and knowledge needed in this new era. This paper reports on the first cycle of an Action Research study in which ID lecturers and 1st-year students explored the utilization of 4IR technologies in undergraduate teaching. This project aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges of such technologies to determine the most effective and appropriate way to incorporate new technologies into the curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the implementation of these technologies through the assessment of the efficacy of the project outcomes through examples provide, and the students’ individual experiences and reflections, and finally, to present key findings and recommendations for further study.