Ri Kwang Hwi, a researcher at the Faculty of Mechanical Science and Technology, has been improving the practical scientific research capability of postgraduate students in close combination of scientific research and education based on a virtual factory.
Universities and research institutes in many countries are in contact with production enterprises so as to bring education and scientific research close to production, resulting in great changes in teaching methods. In particular, they are getting rid of cramming methods to introduce heuristic, inductive and discussion teaching methods.
Introduction of virtual factories allows the contents of selective subjects in postgraduate course to be organized in conformity with the world trend of developing education and pedagogical requirements.
The first step is to let students grasp the actual conditions of the virtual factory in order to combine scientific research and education.
Let’s take “expert system for process planning” as an example. Here the first thing they have to do is to visit the technical department to investigate the work of the technical preparing office, where they learn about the technical process sheet and technical guidance. Then in the technical equipment office they check fixture design and tool design. The next thing to do is to find out about production scheduling in the production department. All these are conducted at the virtual factory, not an actual one.
In real situations, comprehensive investigation is impossible as they do not have everything needed for scientific research and education. This requires the model of a virtual factory, which involves a lot of effort.
The next step is to let students inquire into the trend of development of science and technology and scientific foundations in every element of the production site. Of course, profound scientific inquiry may be impossible, but at least they can get the gist, for they have already finished basic technology subjects and major subjects in undergraduate course.
This part enables them to select a research seed in the course of studying and investigating deep into literature and the world trend of development to break through the cutting edge.
The last step is to let students return to the technical preparing office and the technical equipment office after fixing the direction of scientific research in order to bring their research closer to production. This helps them decide their selective subjects for themselves.
In summary, if virtual factory investigation precedes, postgraduate students can decide their selective subjects after setting the direction of their research before laying scientific foundations for it.
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