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A q-study into future visions on the labour market and its implications for higher education.
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This paper describes some explorations on the concept of disassemblability as an important circularity indicator for products because of its severe impact on reuse value. Although usefulness of the concept for determining disassembly strategies and for improving circular product design clearly shows in earlier studies, the link with Industry 4.0 (I4.0)-related process innovation is still underexposed. For further technical development of the field of remanufacturing, research is needed on tools & training for operators, diagnostics, disassembly/repair instructions and forms of operator support. This includes the use of IoT and cobots in remanufacturing lines for automatic disassembly, sorting and recognition methods; providing guidance for operators and reduction of change-over times. A prototype for a disassembly work cell for a mobile phone has been developed together with researchers and students. This includes the removal of screws by means of a cobot using both vision & the available info in the product’s Bill-Of-Materials, the removal of covers, opening of snap fits and replacement of modules. This prototyping demonstrates that it is relatively easy to automate disassembly operations for an undamaged product, that has been designed with repairability in mind and for which product data and models are available. Process innovations like robotisation influence the disassemblability in a positive way, but current indicators like a Disassembly Index (DI) can’t reflect this properly. This study therefore concludes with suggestions for an evaluation of disassemblability by looking at the interaction between product, process and resources in a coherent way.
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Technological developments have a major impact on how we live, work and learn together. Several authors refer to a fourth revolution in which robots and other intelligent systems take over an increasing number of the current (routine) tasks carried out by humans (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014; Est et al., 2015; Ford, 2016; Helbing, 2014; Ross, 2017; Schwab, 2016). The relationship between man and machine will change fundamentally as a result. We are already noticing this shift, most specifically in the workplace. E.g., in the field of health care, digitalisation and robotisation can empower patients and their families. Hospitals are primarily intended for clients with complex care needs. This has consequences for the tasks carried out by nurses, who become more of a ‘care director’ or ‘research nurse’. Hospitals approach this in different ways, resulting in considerable diversity as to how these roles are fulfilled. These changes, albeit diverse, can also be seen in the roles of accountants, police officers and financial advisers at banks (Biemans, Sjoer, Brouwer and Potting, 2017). The traditional occupational profiles no longer exist and the essence of these professions is shifting. This does not make such occupations less attractive, but requires different qualities. The demand for more highly educated professionals who can carry out complex tasks in a creative and interdisciplinary manner will increase (McKinsey, 2017). Also, other social developments, such as migration and greenification, prompt us to ask new questions, resulting in new paths towards identifying solutions.
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The future of the business sector for students in higher education is uncertain. The reasons for this are technological developments, the effects of globalisation and the shifting of business models (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014; Helbing, 2014). The consequences of digitalisation and robotisation are large for professions in the financial-economic sector, such as accountancy and finance, business economy, and marketing (Frey & Osborne, 2013; Deloitte, 2016). As a result, certain jobs will disappear, but on the other hand new types of jobs will arise. It is expected that people in employment will have to have a strong adaptive ability to handle fast changes. There is an increasing expectation that they need to be mobile between employers and that they should be able to deal with a variety of new tasks, roles and positions (Dochy, Berghmans, Koenen, & Segers, 2015). Professionals need to have a sense of great flexibility in order to be able to anticipate these changes based on their own power and ambition. In addition to this adaptive ability, good interpersonal skills are essential due to the need for working in multidisciplinary teams on complex issues (Onstenk, 2017). The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (Sociaal-Economische Raad, 2017) presumes that the level of basic skills required to participate in an increasingly complex society is continuously growing, and they advise upcoming professionals to train their resistance, flexibility and the ability to continuously develop in order to maintain sustainable employability. In this way professionals regularly need to be able to reinvent themselves during periods of change (Van Water & Weggeman, 2017; Frie, Potting, Sjoer, & Van der Heijden, submitted for publication). This chapter will describe how the Department of Business, Finance & Marketing (BFM) of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) has found an answer to the challenges of a Department-wide educational innovation. First it is outlined what this innovation involves and how it will be designed. The net paragraph clarifies the overlap in the competency profiles of the five programmes of BFM. Then the next steps of this educational innovation process are described. Finally, insights will be discussed as to the role of the lecturers and the business sector, as valuable partners, within this educational reform.
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The current western agrifood system is highly successful in providing for human needs. However, the dominant agricultural approach of up-scaling and specialisation is put under pressure by a number of developments in the global landscape. Global developments such as population growth, pollution, soil degradation and climate change, in which agriculture plays a crucial role, make the need for a transition towards a paradigm with a broader range of values evident. Niche initiatives often develop as a reaction to needs not fulfilled by the regime. Therefore, certain niches may have the potential of driving a necessary transition. This research aims to determine if permaculture, being a niche, has this potential. The main question for this research was formulated as follows: How can a production system based on permaculture principles contribute to the agrifood transition? To answer this question, relevant current trends and global developments were used as a basis for developing a future scenario. Empirical qualitative data on permaculture businesses in the Netherlands was gathered as well, of which the results were used for a determination of permaculture’s performance in this future scenario. This was done by comparing a standardised permaculture system with a conventional potato system. As a result of this comparison, the Unique Selling Points of permaculture were identified, which determine the future potential of permaculture.
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This book consists of thirteen chapters with elaborations on several perspectives of the Universities kaleidoscope. The aim of our book is not meant as a purely scientific endeavour, but as a contribution to the future development of universities. The style is popular science, primarily targeted at our lecturers as one of the most important social capitals we have. As the book is addressed to them, all chapters discuss their role, directly or indirectly. The focus is always on the ability to offer students the best possible learning environment. This requires first and foremost a dialogue on the professional diversity of lecturers. Innovative behaviour appears to be crucial for all of them. In addition to these abilities of lecturers, the design of the curriculum is essential for all parties involved. A curriculum largely determines the themes and contents addressed, how work-related, engaging and stimulating learning activities are developed and how lecturers design these on the micro level based on their expertise. Frans Jacobs & Ellen Sjoer (Editors). (See also seperate chapters).
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