Student driven learning in Synthetic Environments

113 master students of multiple engineering study backgrounds were challenged to develop solutions for the Fraunhofer Project Center at the University of Twente (FPC@UT). In 20 groups the students had to develop a synthetic environment to monitor, manage and control a pilot plant or virtual factory. The assignment was carried out in the context of the study Industrial Design Engineering, in the course ‘Virtual Reality’. During the course the students had to provide a strategic, yet concrete proposal and demonstrator on how to realize a solution using virtual and augmented reality technology and to find balance between generic tools and specific applications. The students had the Virtual Reality Lab and Smart Industry Lab to their disposal during this 10 week, 5 ECTS, course. Based on a brief introduction by the FPC@UT the students had to set their own goals and deliverables and convince the client that their envisaged solution would be beneficial. The course is based on student driven learning, in combination with project led education. This resulted in a situation where the students were in charge of their education and had to decide for themselves which knowledge and feedback they would need in order to achieve their deliverables. Eventually the resulted solutions could be used by FPC@UT to further integrate in their (future) clients.