ADMIRE: reducing the skills gap in additive manufacturing

The Project

The ADMIRE project was established to reduce the skills gap between the Higher Educational institutions' approach and industry's needs in the field of additive manufacturing [AM]. The application of AM is rapidly increasing and it is critical that the specialists trained by educational institutions come into the industry equipped with the right skills set. 

Therefore, this project, comprising eight partners from five European countries, developed and piloted various tools and techniques that aimed to build a strong relationship between all the parties interested in the successful implementation of AM. Examples include the development of a European master's degree in Metal AM Engineering and an online hub where teachers, students, researchers and companies can connect and share information easily. 

Key Activities

ADMIRE's methodology was based on a bottom-up approach grounded on needs and mutual stakeholders' interests and agreement, with a series of interlocking phases to ensure ongoing coherence of the methodological framework. A research and needs' analysis was carried out for the creation of the Metal AM MSc [Level 7 European Qualifications Framework, EQF], reaching several stakeholders [industry, universities, future students and AM supply chain's workers). 

Based on the collected feedback, the MSc modular system was designed based on learning outcomes described in knowledge, skills and competences and with European Credit Transfer System [ECTS) attached to each module, proceeding the definition of the scientific content and also the teaching, learning and assessment strategies. The developed course was piloted during the project which led to the successful launching of the new degree.

Benefits

In Oct 2019, the new Master's degree in metal AM [https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/courses/taught/metal-additive­manufacturing) was launched at Cranfield University, with plans to incorporate the developed content into programmes at the other universities involved. This course provides students with the latest knowledge and skills for metal AM providing a great foundation for a future career. This includes AM processes and their capabilities, designing AM systems, qualification, modelling and materials. Practical experience will be gained through assignments and group and individual projects in close collaboration with leading industrial end-users.

MTC's Role in the Project

The MTC's role in this project was to be responsible for the quality assurance work package which defined the project quality plan. This was with the intention of ensuring that the developed course met the needs of industry and the quality plan consisted of measurable objectives to assist the project manager and to measure the quality of the project outputs. The MTC also created an AM glossary document for the students to refer to during the course. This ensured a common understanding of the topics. Thirdly, the MTC supplied several members of staff to pilot the course to enable their upskilling and to provide feedback on the course itself.