ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Over the last decade industrial manufacturing has undergone a significant change: it is no longer home-based; it operates in a global market; digital business has become a strategy to survive; the extended enterprise is being implemented; and components and even products are made where conditions are most favourable. However, engineering education does not completely reflect today’s needs of an industry that faces problems of integrative nature across the traditional disciplines, such as: working globally in a multicultural environment; working in interdisciplinary, multi-skilled teams and working with digital tools for communication. This circumstance calls for a new university curriculum reflecting technology and management. The GEM (Global Education in Manufacturing) project, funded under the IMS initiative, was completed in November 2004. The main achievements of GEM are: The definition of the industrial needs for a new type of curriculum in manufacturing industry and the development of a framework of a curriculum in manufacturing strategy accessible over the Internet and allowing appropriate flexibility for implementation according to local tradition and legislation.
