Title: Teaching product development in a corporate education programme – a new approach

Authors: Henrique Rozenfeld, Ana Paula Freitas Mundim, Daniel Capaldo Amaral, Sergio Luis da Silva, Vander Guerrero, Lucas Cley da Horta,

Addresses: University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos School of Engineering, Nucleus of Advanced Manufacturing – NUMA, Caixa Postal 396, Sao Carlos, SP 13566 590, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos School of Engineering, Nucleus of Advanced Manufacturing – NUMA, Caixa Postal 396, Sao Carlos, SP 13566 590, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos School of Engineering, Nucleus of Advanced Manufacturing – NUMA, Caixa Postal 396, Sao Carlos, SP 13566 590, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos School of Engineering, Nucleus of Advanced Manufacturing – NUMA, Caixa Postal 396, Sao Carlos, SP 13566 590, Brazil.

Abstract: Learning and qualifications enable a company to keep technologically updated and to achieve the strict standards of productivity, speed and quality required in the product development process. However, the professionals of this process face two major challenges considering their qualifications, i.e. a holistic view and time. The former facilitates teamwork by enabling its professionals to identify the links connecting their activity with others and to become more critical about their own knowledge and their learning needs. The second challenge is time, a resource that is always in scarce supply for professionals in the area, since it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to get away from their work routine in order to dedicate themselves to learning activities. The solution to these two challenges depends on new teaching forms and resources that allow learning to occur concurrently with the execution of real projects or that resemble reality as closely as possible. Within this context, the purpose of this article is to present the product development scenario as a tool to support a corporate education program, using ||learning by doing|| didactics in a customised and holistic environment.

Keywords: teaching product development; professional qualifications; corporate education; learning by doing; holistic product development environment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2003.002158

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2003 Vol.13 No.1/2, pp.148-170

Published online: 21 Jul 2003 *

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