Eighty percent of education professionals say that robots and automation will shape employment conditions in the coming years, but only one in four universities use robots in their curricula1. ABB in Poland has therefore come out with an initiative for specialized courses in robotics, with programming and operation of the equipment playing a major role. After completing the course, students have the chance to obtain a certificate, confirming their newly acquired skills. Such a document, issued by one of the leaders in the global robotics market, can be very welcome by a potential employer.
- For several years, a worldwide trend of shortages of skilled workers has become apparent. Recruitment times are getting longer, and companies looking for specialists are investing more and more in the training process. Unfortunately, it looks like the situation will not improve in the long term, explains Beata Syczewska, director of ABB's Robotics Division in Poland. - We are already seeing reactions from universities to the situation, but their activity is so far insufficient to solve the problem. That's why companies like ABB are trying to support education and help young people gain competence and experience.
Stand out in the labor market
The course aims, among other things, to "tame" students with the equipment and software used in robotics. All materials have been prepared by ABB experts, and the basic tool is the RobotStudio software package, which allows offline programming and simulation of robotic applications. It is the most popular system of its kind in the world.
- Our observations show that students lack materials and opportunities to gain practical skills in programming and operating equipment. This is quite a problem for those who are about to start their careers," says Pawel Dziedzic, manager of the ABB Robotics Training Center. - Also, conversations with lecturers made us realize that there is a lack of modern teaching aids. That's why we proposed cooperation to universities.
According to the program's premise, the classes are taught by lecturers from the universities, who, in advance - during a two-day preparatory meeting - get acquainted with all the materials, the course syllabus, the suggested time allocation for each topic, and the practical tasks to be solved by the students. Lecturers are also provided with a link to download RobotStudio (a one-year free license for educational entities is offered). Classes are held throughout the semester at the university, and experts from ABB offer ongoing support. The program is complemented by the possibility for the student to obtain the aforementioned certificate, confirming the completion of the training and the acquisition of specific skills.
- The involvement of a company like ABB improves the education process for future automation engineers and raises its level. We appreciate the cooperation, which introduces a number of practical, market-oriented aspects, combining business with education and allowing us to better adapt to the current expectations of employers," says Agnieszka Kobierska, Ph.D., of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Lodz. - The students are very pleased with the program, seeing the added value not only in practicing on the latest version of the software, which was previously unavailable to them, but also in the opportunity to earn a certificate. In this way they will be able to distinguish themselves on the job market.
In the school semester just ended, ABB conducted a kind of pilot of the program at the Technical University of Lodz. Dozens of students took part. Based on their feedback, the ABB Robotics Training Center made some adjustments to the materials.
- These were minor changes, mainly concerning the development of certain issues and paying more attention to the elements pointed out by lecturers and students. After the vacations, from the new semester, we will launch the program for all interested universities," explains Pawel Dziedzic.
Although talks on cooperation have only just begun, the willingness to organize the course has already been expressed by four polytechnic universities (Lodz, Poznan, Silesia and Rzeszow), as well as.... University of Szczecin, which decided that this type of classes would be a great addition to the program in the Logistics (Bachelor's) and Engineering Logistics majors.
- We are pleased to see such an active attitude of the university in response to our project. We are convinced that active cooperation between business and educational institutions will prepare young people for future work. It is necessary to bet on the development of skills and competencies in the field of automation in order to effectively implement it in companies, whose goal is to constantly improve efficiency and increase resilience to the increasingly frequent economic turbulence," adds Beata Syczewska.
No mindless "clickology"
ABB's 2022 survey of U.S. and European business leaders found that 74 percent of companies in Europe and 70 percent in the U.S. plan to transform or re-engineer their operations to improve their supply chain in response to global volatility, labor shortages and the need for more sustainable growth. Most of these companies see automation as an enabler for these changes.
Despite this, the survey simultaneously found a significant gap in education and training that would develop the skills needed to work in an increasingly automated environment. Only one in four educational institutions currently uses robots as part of their curricula.
- ABB's survey highlights the need for greater promotion of robotics and automation education courses at every possible level of education. In Poland, ABB has been involved in educational programs for years, Beata Syczewska points out. - We cooperate with technical universities, organizing thematic meetings for students at our Robotics Training Center in Warsaw. Every year we invite students to take part in apprenticeships at our company, during which everyone has the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in practice, working on specific robotics projects.
As the company's experts emphasize, no one wants students to apply mindless "clickology" and learn in which order to run various functions. After all, no two projects and no two robotic stations are the same.
- We want our certified graduates to have a good understanding of the principles of robot programming and operation, and to be able to creatively use specialized software to achieve their goals," adds Pawel Dziedzic. - This way, they can be experts in the eyes of their future employer from the first day of their work.
More information on ABB's Robotics education programs is available at: https://new.abb.com/products/robotics/pl/industries/robotyka-dla-edukacji
1 ABB survey of 2,301 respondents.
