As universities increase their usage of 3D printers in multiple fields of study, one might expect more of them to offer entire courses in it as well. While a full course is less often the case, there are growing initiatives that support it. Take, for example BarcelonaTech, who now offer an Additive Manufacturing Master’s Degree. Fittingly, the university was also the birthplace of BCN3D, so it’s safe to say they know their stuff.
This is the first course of this type in Spain’s educational history. The mission statement of the course is to provide students with an understanding of Industry 4.0 applications. It, therefore, goes into 3D printing and its effects on the industrial value chain. Aside from giving students the opportunity to try their hand with great equipment, it also focuses on real world cases.
Felip Fenollosa, general director of the CIM UPC, said: “…we have taken a step forward for the formative leadership in Additive Manufacturing, integrating the relevant actors in this ecosystem to contribute their experience to prepare the next generations of professionals for the transformation of our industry. We seek that in a global environment any Design can be sent anywhere in the world and manufactured at the same point of sale.”
An Additive Manufacturing Course
The course focuses on 3 levels of manufacturing study: product design, improving the production process and advantages of manufacturing the final product. So of right now, the course is only for people working in industrial companies. Still, it’s important to have courses that re-educate engineers for more modern manufacturing solutions.
The course also features industry-specific knowledge, diving into the ways AM can be useful in a variety of industries. These include automotive, medical and construction 3D printing. The course runs for a total of 450 hours study time from from October 2018 to July 2019.
You can find out more about the course here.
Featured image courtesy of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.