Impact of the Industry 4.0 on Higher Education

The fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0) or Industry 4.0 is the trend toward smart automation, interconnection, decentralization, and information security and transparency. It is based on the use of cyber-physical systems which encompasses several technologies such as robotics, the Internet of things, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence that lift the boundary between the real and the virtual world. While these advances have brought substantial benefits to society, they also pose major challenges. One of these challenges is the need for transformation of the present traditional education system to cope with a growing gap between academia and the needs and demands of the labor market. Both education and Industry must be aligned together to address this challenge and train the new generations to be confident with technology and be continuously learning and self-improving individuals. Indeed, many institutions from all over the world have started to comply with the requirements of digital education. However, widespread implementation of digitization will bring many issues such as the selection of the best curriculum design and pedagogical methods, setting an appropriate policy, recognizing entrepreneurship opportunities, and identification of the jobs in the future when so many of them will be lost through technical improvements.

This chapter provides insights into the pressing need for reformation of educational settings, discusses how industry 4.0 has influenced higher education in several countries, and finally explains the challenges that need to be addressed so that the higher education institutions can fulfill the crucial role in preparing the next generation for industry 4.0 era.