INDUSTRY 4.0: CHALLENGES IN THE UNIVERSITY TRAINING OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS

Abstract

In this 21st century, the concern of universities in shaping professionals with a high capacity for action prevails. Thus, the training of industrial engineers is not exempt from this, as the know-how for entrepreneurship must take into account what the industry and the techno-scientific market demand, in order to efficiently instruct the human capital required in the workplace. In this sense, the argumentative essay advocates a review of emerging technologies in Industry 4.0, such as big data, cloud computing, collaborative robots, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, and additive manufacturing. It develops its methodical argumentation through documentary review and analysis to interpret the premises: Industry 4.0, challenges in understanding Industry 4.0 in university education, the era of process digitization in Industry 4.0, and its connection with university education in industrial engineering. It concludes that in the scientific revolution, the training of industrial engineers faces the challenge of combining critical metacognitive competencies with the development of soft skills focused on collaboration, communication, and the experience of turning difficulties into opportunities within human capital for the evolution of connected industry in production systems in response to the demands of digitized society.