If you are an educator or simply enjoy following educational trends, you must have noticed a lot of fuss around Education 4.0. In case you were wondering what this new type of education is and how it is linked with the fourth industrial revolution, keep on reading to learn more about its exciting prospects.

Let’s find out.

The Role of Education

Education has intertemporal value in our society. Its primary role is to create values and shape attitudes and behaviours aligned with society’s expectations. Furthermore, education’s secondary role is to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life.

But what is “needed” in life has a dynamic nature that changes with culture and technology evolution. Especially nowadays, that the world is currently undergoing a rapid digital transformation, there is an urgency for educational systems to adapt. This school adaptation relates to both speeding up innovations and technology integration in schools and improving school curricula.

The still-going COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inefficiencies of education systems around the world. But luckily, this situation sped up the digital transformation of schools, making them better prepared to support Education 4.0.    

What is Education 4.0?

Education 4.0 is what we call the current state of education with all the digital tools (blended learning) and the newly aligned educational goals. For those not familiar with the term, its name originates from the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 in short.

“Industrie 4.0 refers to the intelligent networking of machines and processes for the industry with the help of information and communication technology”. In other words, we are talking about new ways of production, value creation and real-time optimization with new technologies’ help. For example, important components of industry 4.0 are the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, machine learning and others.

As a result of this new technological boom, there is also an increased demand for tech skills. And that is when education 4.0 chimes in with the important role to teach young children the necessary digital skills. Specifically, the job types that today’s children will do in the near future do not exist yet. Additionally, it is observed that the gap between education and work is further widened after limited innovation in education systems.  Therefore, Education 4.0 is crucial to begin the reskilling revolution to meet the current demand in digital skills and competencies and the future needs.     

The Education 4.0 Benefits

As Education 4.0 will support the 4.0 Industry, it is evident that its role will be critical for the future. When education catches up with the technological advancements of the fourth industrial revolution, it will serve as a key enabler of its advantages.

Just imagine all the benefits from the previous industrial revolutions that have led to today’s unprecedented standards of living. Education can provide meaningful support to this technological revolution and improve further:

• Global GDP
• The labour market
• Health Sector
• Education
• Financing
• Blockchain

More specifically, Education 4.0 will create a wider base of higher-skilled workers and reduce workforce shortages in critical sectors. Furthermore, this new type of educations aspires to create a deeper link between employers and schools. Thus, school curricula will adapt better to the actual needs of the workplace, and students will have better chances to be employed.

Education 4.0 for Youth European Project

Of course, this critical educational revolution could not be missing from the context of EU project funding. Education 4.0 for Youth ERASMUS+ project will seek to educate around this new type of education and show its relevance to the fundamental concept of the Industrial Revolution.

For this project consortium, identifying sources of learning is equally important to skills acquisition and knowledge accumulation. For that reason, the expected outcomes of this EU project are creating a digital platform for learning and online learning content in the spirit of Education 4.0.

Stay tuned for further updates on Education 4.0 for Youth European project and follow it through its project implementation period.