Industry 4.0

We actively conduct research in virtually all Industry 4.0 technology, understanding that true innovation happens at the confluence of disciplines. Our research institutes have Industry 4.0 at the very core of their operating strategy.

• Data Science Research Institute houses big data and analytics capabilities. 
• Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute works strongly in digital health technologies.
• Manufacturing Futures Research Institute is working with partners to investigate how data analytics and algorithms can improve process control as one example of many industry 4.0 related activities.
• Smart Cities Research Institute has research themes around the future of urban infrastructure, services and delivery systems, smart spaces for home and work, and the future of urban mobility.
• Social Innovation Research Institute is considering the social impacts and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, dubbing this society 4.0.
• Space Technology and Industry Institute is taking industry 4.0 to space!
   

We are also part of two Industry 4.0 Testlabs:

• Industry 4.0 Testlab in Composite Additive Manufacturing created in partnership with CSIRO
• Factory of the Future.

Many manufacturers are unsure how to operationalise Industry 4.0 technology to their benefit. Swinburne provides the opportunity for businesses to experiment through:

• rapid product development and prototyping with Factory of the Future and Advanced Manufacturing Industry 4.0 Hub staff and researchers.
• design-led thinking, problem-solving and prototyping with the Design Factory Melbourne and the Centre for Design Innovation
• research and development projects throughout the whole university
• re-skilling, upskilling and new-skilling of staff through vocational and higher education.

This collaboration reduces the risks, allowing new ideas to be tested inexpensively through access to student placement options and the state-of-the-art equipment.

Swinburne’s Industry 4.0 vocational education students are trained across Industry 4.0 technologies and are expert system builders and implementers. 

Transferring new skills into a company rapidly can be achieved through internships or graduate employment.

Companies can use this approach to develop and validate a new product, process or business model and to get traction in the marketplace. Complex, higher value and higher risk projects can also be explored via PhD projects or larger multi-year, multi-partner projects.

Swinburne is developing new courses which put deep digital, complex problem-solving, collaboration, communication, interpersonal and leadership skills at their core. Swinburne’s Industry 4.0 Higher Apprenticeship, the Associate Degree of Applied Technologies, pioneers this approach.

Swinburne will teach students how to constantly re-invent and evaluate their value to the marketplace and develop a continuously evolving personal business model.

Swinburne is developing its students into global citizens. Industry 4.0 apprentices have travelled overseas to learn how other countries are taking advantage of the digital economy and to see some of the world’s best practice in Industry 4.0 in action.

Once a month, academic and research staff at Swinburne meet to understand how technology is converging and impacting across disciplines, with the aim of sharing knowledge and spurring new initiatives in industry 4.0. This dynamic forum is presented by teams from across the university, sharply focused on impacts and opportunities for research collaboration.

For more information, contact research@swinburne.edu.au or you can search for upcoming industry 4.0 events.