In Summary

  • Swinburne, Siemens and Ai Group share Excellence in Manufacturing Skills Development award for Industry 4.0 Higher Apprentice project
  • The award is part of national Endeavour Awards, presented by Manufacturers’ Monthly

A three-way partnership between Swinburne, Siemens and the Ai Group has won the Excellence in Manufacturing Skills Development award for the groundbreaking Industry 4.0 Higher Apprentice project.

The award was announced during National Manufacturing Week, as part of the national Endeavour Awards, Australia’s most prestigious manufacturing awards.

Led by AiGroup, with Swinburne as the education provider and Siemens as the industry partner, the Industry 4.0 Higher Apprentice Program prepares students for jobs that are emerging in the digital economy. It combines elements of an apprenticeship and a higher education degree.

The apprenticeship-style program involves training students in cutting-edge manufacturing technologies including 3D metal printing, automation, machine vision and virtual reality. On completion, participants earn an Associate Degree of Applied Technologies from Swinburne.

The qualification meets the changing needs of industry with a focus on the adoption of high-level technology skills and the tools required for the future workforce.

Students benefit from Swinburne’s longstanding tradition of integrating practical workplace skills and tertiary education, while being embedded within a world-leading work environment provided by Siemens.

The project combines the best of university and vocational learning models to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills of technically minded participants.

It also incorporates skills for the future in business and design. Participants are highly capable and are employed under arrangements built upon the apprenticeship model for the duration of the program.

“The Endeavour Award recognised Swinburne’s research-led innovation in curriculum design and implementation through work integrated learning and industry collaboration focused on creating work-ready graduates for the advanced manufacturing sector within an emerging global Industry 4.0 environment,” says Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development) Professor Aleksandar Subic.

“Our Vocational Education and Training (VET) and higher education staff worked collaboratively with all stakeholders to co-create this sector leading course, building on the university’s Industry 4.0 Strategy.”

The Endeavour Awards are presented annually by Manufacturers’ Monthly, and are supported by National Manufacturing Week.

Recognised as the premier awards program within the manufacturing industry, the awards are a chance for all involved in manufacturing across Australia to celebrate the many successes within the industry.