| |OCTOBER 20209Such competency can be developed by embracing design thinking.A second competency for leverag-ing Industry 4.0 technologies is the ability to integrate multi-disciplinary concepts and techniques. Companies cannot afford to have large multi-dis-ciplinary teams to address their re-quirement. The demand is for smaller, agile, inter-disciplinary teams. A me-chanical engineer with a good under-standing of a machine tool will need to have an appreciation of the sensors and controls and data management tools to define the requirement of a solution to predict and control the be-havior of the machine tool. Similarly, a software engineer with good under-standing of software tools will need to have the ability to understand the structure-function-behavior of the machine tool and translate the shop floor requirement into a software specification. It will be great if they can also be adept at using modeling tools like SysML that allow them to express inter-disciplinary require-ments.The third competency required for Industry 4.0 is leadership. Young engineers need to develop an entre-preneurial mindset to spot business opportunities, challenge prevalent assumptions, collaborate with ex-perienced professionals within and outside the company to develop and implement new solutions that deliver significantly higher productivity and cost savings. Picking Academic Institutions that are Industry 4.0 ReadyAcademic institutions are yet to gear up to this challenge. The institute rankings or placement statistics do not necessarily capture the prepared-ness of an institute for the three key competencies for Industry 4.0. Even in cases where new programs have been launched, curriculum changes made or labs launched in partnership with platform vendors, the learning envi-ronments and pedagogy may not have fundamentally changed to support de-velopment of these new competencies. It is important for prospective en-gineering students and their parents to look beyond the institute rankings and placement statistics. They need to pay attention to the finer details and everyday practices in institutions. For instance, does the curriculum enable development of these key competen-cies in a systematic manner over the semesters; the % of credits given to inter-disciplinary subjects, soft-skills, practical work and industry intern-ships; the student-faculty ratio for these types of courses; the percent-age of faculty with atleast five years of industry experience; and whether the credit system values the student learning effort or the faculty's teach-ing effort. They should also try to get a glimpse of the everyday activities in the institutions by reaching out to the senior students. In spite of all the analysis about in-stitutions, the admission process and competition may lead students to in-stitutions that may be ill-prepared. In-stead of cribbing about the institution, students must be prepared to take ownership for their learning. With this perspective, they will not only be able to navigate through the institu-tion, but also contribute to it and de-velop leadership qualities. Above all, Industry 4.0 is a great opportunity for young engineers to contribute to na-tional development and developing a new India. Millennials must use it and make a difference to the society. MANUFACTURING IS THE NEW ITIndustry 4.0 is a great opportunity for young engineers to contribute to national development and developing a new India. Millennials must use it and make a difference to the society
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