IMPROVING UNIVERSITY– INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT BY
ADOPTING REMOTE EXPERIMENT AS A PEDAGOGICAL METHOD
Abstract— In the University environment the remote experiment
plays a decisive role in facilitating e-learning development for
specialties that cannot exist in the curriculum without an
experimental – applying part. In the industrial environment
remote experiment becomes a monitoring and control tool for
processes. In research the remote experiment gained gradually
an important position in the area where human intervention
involve dangers and where investments are too high and virtual
simulation help the obtaining of the first images about the
phenomenon.
Remote experiment acts in accordance with the requirements of
the engines that are manifested today universally that is:
globalization, digitalization, horizontalization of the socio-
economic world and in the mixing of technical, economic and
social cultures.
It is noted the today emergence of new skills in comparison with
the classic list known namely: "Cognitive flexibility" and
"Emotional intelligence". There are skills required by
exponential growth of the knowledge volume in the field of
engineering, which makes it compulsory to "navigate" in the
"ocean" of knowledge and choose only those that are really
necessary for the technical evolution of enterprise. In global
mode, in regard with the 10 skills known as required in the year
2020, remote experiment is directly involved in: "Complex
Problem Solving", "Critical Thinking", "Creativity",
“Emotional Intelligence" and "Cognitive Flexibility ", that is, in
half. If you are considering that the remote experiment, apart
from the knowledge transmitted directly, also contains an
important amount of "embedded knowledge", (i.e. the knowledge
that the remote experiment creator are used for the construction
of the experiment, without asking for their learning) can be said
that the remote experiment is an important tool to create those
skills that support the hiring of graduates. After us, the most
important trend, derived from the application of remote
experiment and its use as the learning method, is "acceptance of
failure". Until recently, the failure was penalized with bad marks.
Newer, the path to success is defined as a succession of failures by
whose gradual removal, the amount of accumulated knowledge
increases and grows and perfected by a series of skills. It was
concluded that failure is an important part of the road to
innovation and creativity, and that education must introduce in
the curriculum the failure as a way of learning. The above
considerations were generated by the unanimous accepted
finding according to which technology progresses exponentially
and the society linearly. As a result of these trends, over time, it
can create a gap between technology and society that will be
difficult to recover. One of the paths chosen for approaching the
rhythms of technical and social developments is the introduction
of remote experiment as a pedagogical method in education.
Remote experiment supports multi-cultural because it breaks
geographic limitations and perfectly subordinates the
requirements of globalization. Remote experiment can overcome
the lack of flexibility of current accreditation systems by creating
independent courses (MOOC) having the content certified by the
immediate requirements of the industry and the professional
probity of teachers who create them.
Thus, we consider that the university – industry environment
becomes much more dynamic and appropriate to the needs when
remote experiment is used as pedagogic way, and can provide
both a thorough basic training and a quick response to the
moment's needs of industry, without neglecting the scientific
foundations necessary to forge the personality of a competent
global engineer.
Keywords—component; formatting; style; styling; insert (key
words)
I. INTRODUCTION
Apparently, remote experiment has distinct roles in the
university environment and in the industrial environment. In
the university environment the remote experiment plays a
decisive role in facilitating e-learning development for
specialties that cannot exist without an experimental -
applying part in the curriculum. There is therefore a didactic
component of the remote experiment. In the industrial
environment remote experiment becomes a monitoring and
control tool for processes that run within the same enterprise
(e.g. monitoring energy consumption at enterprise level) or for
enterprises geographically separated (e.g. controlling the
production of subsidiaries in relation to the Mother Enterprise
orders). In research the remote experiment has gradually
gained an important position in that various users can share
the investigative possibilities offered by highly expensive
equipment and appliances, which can only be purchased
through a the commercial alliance that turns into a scientific
alliance. The practice component of the remote experiment is
so underlined.
Commentators of technical, economic and social evolution say
that the remote experiment contains the functions described
above as a manifestation of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Remote experiment managed to satisfy both the needs of
evolution in education (by adding the virtual environment in
learning) and those in the industry according to the
requirements of the engines that act globally, i.e.
globalization, digitalization (with an exponential rate of
change from the linear rate that is estimated), the horizons of
the socio-economic world (which allowed the transfer of
power to consumers and the end user, thus redrawing the
hierarchies of the socio-economic world ) and finally mixing
technical, economic and social cultures (which allowed, as a
result of easier access to software and tools, a stage in which
users can be transformed into manufacturers).
R.E. and e-learning
R.E. – “commercial alliance” turns into
Academic
“scientific alliance”
environment
Research
Industrial
environment
R.E. processes in virtual and real environment
R.E. Monitoring and control
Fig.1. R.E. roles in learning, research and industry
I . REMOTE EXPERIMENT AND HIRING
GRADUATES
The main role of engineering education is to increase the
employability of graduates by shortening periods of adaptation
to the needs and desires of the industry. If we refer to a valid
definition of employability we can say that she is: "... A
combination or "set of achievements" of skills knowledge,
understanding and personal attributes that together make a
graduate more likely to gain and remain in employment... ".
Because in this material we are focusing our attention to
remote experiment, which is part of the tools and methods of
applicative education, an analysis of the evolution of skills
that industry is demanding for employment, taking into
account the World Economic Forum-Geneva 2016
considerations, is indicated in table 1. In table 1, the skills
were placed in hierarchical order, with the goal to highlight
their dynamics and importance (in short periods of time), and
to reveal the pivots that are needed to sustain this dynamics.
Analyzing table 1 is primarily distinguished the increasing of
the importance of creativity (from position 10 to position 3)
although it is not a skills that is developed within a
curriculum, but only can be facilitated by tangent and indirect
methods. Remote experiment is such a method, proof by many
creativity studies.
There is also remarked the emergence of new skills in these 5
years of evolution (2015 -2020), namely: "Cognitive
flexibility" and "Emotional intelligence". There are skills
required by exponential growth of the knowledge volume in
the field of engineering, which makes it compulsory to
"navigate" in the "ocean" of knowledge and choose only those
that are truly necessary for the technical evolution of
enterprises. "Cognitive Flexibility" and "Emotional
intelligence" are the skills that arises and consolidates
throughout the duration of the use of remote experiment. For
the field of learning these skills are those that contribute to the
selection, from the network of remote experiments, of the
most suitable and, in practice, the same skills allow the
flexible selection of "remote" solutions best suited with the
hardware and software existed in use, in accordance with the
enterprise endowment and its development plans.
The remark made by the World Economic Forum regarding
the emergence of skill "Cognitive flexibility" has great
connection to the divergent thinking - the one that facilitates
creativity. Learning often uses remote experiment as a
transposition into the virtual environment of classical
laboratory experiences, which incorporates in "remote"
experiment convergent thinking, characteristic for classic
knowledge transfer. The emergence of "Cognitive flexibility"
as new skill completes this landscape with a new function -
divergent thinking as was stated earlier.
In global mode, from the 10 skills presented in table 1, remote
experiment is directly involved in: "Complex Problem
Solving", "Critical Thinking", "Creativity", “Emotional
Intelligence”, and "Cognitive Flexibility", meaning in half. If
you are considering that the remote experiment, apart from the
knowledge transmitted directly, also contains an important
amount of "embedded knowledge", that is, the knowledge that
the remote experiment creator is used for the construction of
the experiment, without asking for their learning, can be said
that the remote experiment is an important tool for creating of
those skills that sustain employability.
SKILLS
old old
new
Cognitive Emotional
Creativity Critical
flexibility intelligence
thinking
Divergent thinking
 Fig. 2. R.E. increases the importance of creativity skills. It was concluded that failure is an important part of the
road to innovation and creativity, and that education must

Tab.1 Evolution of skills in only 5 years. Changes of position and importance

Skills 2015 Poz Sense of evolution Skills 2020 Poz Old

/new
Complex 1 Complex 1 Old
problems problems
solving solving
Coordinating 2 Critical 2 Old
with others thinking
People 3 Creativity 3 Old
Management
Critical 4 People 4 Old
thinking Management
Negotiation 5 Coordinating 5 Old
with others
Quality 6 Emotional 6 New
control out intelligence
Service 7 Judgements 7 Old
orientation and decision
making
Judgements 8 Service 8 Old
and decision orientation
making
Active 9 Negotiation 9 Old
listening out
Creativity 10 Cognitive 10 New
flexibility

II. MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY REMOTE

EXPERIMENT IN LEARNING

Engineering education must take into account the constant
dynamics of skills that are required by the labor market and
which the education needs to satisfy. As a result, more and
more new trends have emerged in the pedagogic approach of
engineering education. After us, the most important trend,
derived from the application of remote experiment and its use
as the learning method, is "acceptance of failure".
Approaching experiments using convergent thinking ensures
(apart from the accumulation of the necessary minimum
knowledge), through restrictions that eliminate possible
variants, touching the expected end. Failure is excluded even
from the design of the experiment, being possible only
mistakes of handling and setting. With the appearance of
remote experiment networks, users have at their disposal
several variants of experiment for the same final objective
and, it is possible, to choose a variant that at some point, due
to lack of necessary support of knowledge, to lead to failure.
Until recently, the failure was penalized with bak marks.
Newer, the path to success is defined as a succession of
failures by whose gradual removal, the amount of accumulated
knowledge increases and grows and perfected a series of
introduce in the curriculum the failure as a way of learning. As
a result the problem-based-learning system, which so far was
designed in the system of convergent thinking (elimination of
failure through successive restrictions) must be designed based
on real-world happenings, so to accept failure as node, as a
crossroad towards learning the way to the desired solution.
How remote experiment in the virtual environment comprises,
for achieving the same purpose, experiments with different
hardware and software media, it becomes an important tool in
supporting possible scenarios (divergent thinking) for the
same end .
What more does the remote experiment add to the above?
Firstly, the ability to communicate and working in teams. The
virtual environment offers this possibility of communicating
between people in different geographic locations and coming
from different cultural backgrounds. It also allows the
formation of ad hoc teams that, through communication and
collaboration, focuses on solving issues of common interest,
putting each to "beating" their own knowledge and experience
acquired (explicit knowledge) and coming out of this
collaboration with new experiences and new thinking systems
(tacit knowledge).
Experiment
Experiment
Initial Knowledge
Knowledge after failure 1
Failure 1 Failure 2
Fig.3 The evolution of knowledge when the failure is accepted
Is the above described phenomenon important? Is it forced to
consider remote experimentation as an important tool in
curricula modernization? We consider that not, and that the
importance of remote experiment will grow because the
appearance of IoT that only makes to multiply the principles
of remote experiment to the level of each object that is
intended to be controlled. The emergence of the IoT concept is
based on many of the remote experiment principles and the
future development of the remote experiment will not be able
to be do without taking into account the IoT.
III. GLOBAL ENGINEER AND REMOTE EXPERIMENT
This notion of global engineer has been shaped due to the
appearance of the virtual working environment that has broken
the limitations of space and time and created an online
workspace that facilitates communication between universities
and students, universities and industry, students and industry.
In addition, due to this virtual environment, the number of
those who can get involved in solving the problems of the real
world has increased exponentially so that the solutions
appeared faster and were validated by an enormous number of
critical analysts.
This virtual engineering environment adds to the two pivots,
without which the problems of the real world cannot be
addressed, namely the technical pivot and the professional
pivot, three new pivots who, until now, were involved in
solving problems only at individual level and namely: the
pivot of interpersonal relationships, the pivot of personal
qualities and the pivot of intercultural relations.
Until the appearance of the virtual environment, inter-personal
relationships are moved around the engineer who assumes the
approach to solve a real-world problem. Obviously, the
interpersonal support circle was limited. With the virtual
environment there is a two-way evolution: one classic,
interpersonal relationships now established on the scale of the
entire world and based on the same in common interests in
solving the problem, and atypical one, determined by the
existence of some teams formed anywhere in the world that
Experiment
Experiment
Knowledge
after
failure 2
Failure n
Success
communicated some results obtained and referred to the PI
problem approached, teams that can be contacted and
attracted. So appeared a jump from teamwork formed in a
classic sense towards working in support teams, formed not as
a result of the initiative of the one that has assumed to solve a CLA
problem but formed by the problem itself and randomly
distributed worldwide. Teamwork gains new valences. From - Te
the team formed based on the subjective criteria established by - Pr
the leader of the first nucleus determined by a real world
problem, to the team formed on the criterion of ad hoc
association for a problem and randomly distributed in
geographic space. The main problem in the latter case is the
communication. Each team of the whole that can be formed
around a problem has different stages of organization,
different stages of understanding and different stages of
progress in solving. The force of such a team must consist in
putting in common of the knowledge and achievements,
because each part may have, in what has already been done, a
grain necessary to increase the final solution. Well, the only
proper way to put in common the stages achieved is the
remote experiment. Each group entity allows access to its own
stage of solving, thus creating a first project report in the
virtual environment. The combination of stages allows a
starting point for the ad hoc team and the taking of
development tasks generated by this first stage. Everything is
done online using remote experiment and virtual environment
facilities.
Once used inter-personal relationships, enter in the game
"personal" pivot because, all the solutions revealed by remote
experiment, of the ad hoc team, must be analyzed critically
and creatively by all members. They must be open to learning
because the solutions put in common do not contain the same
type of software or hardware and, the critical analysis
mentioned above, cannot be done in the absence of adequate
knowledge. The creative approach is the next step of the
"personal" pivot and it must extract from all the solutions put
together those which can solve real problem in a short time
and with less expenses.
In the case of "inter-personal" and "personal" pivots, the role
played by the "trans-cultural" pivot is important. Remote
experiment plays the role of a "tester" that can appreciate the
degree to which every cultural environment from which the
teams formed ad hoc comes, has an interdisciplinary or
multidisciplinary approach in the preparation of their own
specialists. Remote experiment also tests the degree of English
mastery (in the remote experiment dominates English
language). Also how solutions embedded in the remote
experiment, brought by each team and shared in common,
contains a global perspective. Is very important also the
degree in which remote experiment of each attracted team
responds to the economic, social and political perspectives of
the geographic area in which it works
PIVOTS for real world problem solving
CLASSIC CLASSIC+Virtual
Environment
- Technic - Technic
- Professional - Professional
Added by
- Inter-personal relations virtual
- Personal qualities environment
- Inter-cultural relations
Fig. 4 New PIVOTS added in the real world problem solving
by virtual environment
IV. THE REMOTE ECPERIMENT POSITION IN RELATION
WITH THE “TECHNICAL” AND “PROFESSIONAL” PIVOTS
technology and about the way of documenting and informing
from the existing literature.
A remote experiment also speaks about the degree of
understanding and mastery of science in general (subsuming
to the most modern tendencies) of the fundamental principles
of engineering and mathematical fundamentals. The
professional pivot does not refer directly to the remote content
of the experiment but is an analysis of the qualities of the team
members who created it, a kind of critical analysis of CV-s
viewed under different angles than those currently used in the
analysis of a CV. Of example, for the group members who
designed and performed a remote experiment, an important
professional quality is communication.
Not only that relating to the transfer of technical and non-
technical knowledge to users but also to the ability to use
several ways (written, graphic, electronic, etc.) for these
transfers. From the analysis of the "professional" pivot must
also result and the fact that the remote experiment created has
included elements related to the user's ability to judge
situations, his ability to make decisions and to assume and
manage risks as a result of the decisions taken.
The "technical pivot" (probably not the happiest name) must
show that the understanding of the remote experiment assumes
primarily the mid-level mastery of the scientific and
mathematical fundamentals of the domain it belongs to.
Second the remote experiment must appeal to an agreement
(of the medium average) of information technologies and to be
based on the scientific literature of the last hour. It must to
confirm that users have sufficient digital competences to
maneuver the remote experiment. Third, the technical pivot
must refer to one or more of the life cycle phases of the final
product (project, prototype, testing, production, distribution
channels, etc.) and also at the impact of the final product on
the team members, to the sponsor, the customer or to the end-
user, depending on the area in which the remote experiment is
framed.

Technical and professional pivots are part of the five that
today define a global engineer (according to the World
Economic Forum). Not every remote experiment undergoes
the requirements of defining a global engineer. According to
the source cited above a remote experiment (or more) selected
for the ad hoc establishment of
multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary team, must first to reflect
the fact that they were understood and sometimes approached
the life cycle phases of a product meaning i.e. : design -
functional model - industrial model - prototyping testing
(models) – production - distribution and management. They
are the constituent elements of the "technical" and
"professional" pivots.
Of course there are remote experiments that do not meet all
phases of the life cycle of a product mentioned above, but
those that are taken into account in the formation of ad hoc
teams must contain or suggest them in potential mode.
A remote experiment talks a lot about the digital competences
of their creators, about the level of use of information
CONCLUSIONS
The above considerations were generated by the unanimous
accepted finding according to which technology progresses
exponentially and the society linear. As a result of these
a trends, over time, it can create a gap between technology and
society that will be difficult to recover.
One of the paths chosen for approaching the rhythms of
technical and social developments is the introduction of
remote experiment as a pedagogical method in education. This
due to the fact that the remote experiment, besides of the
technology that it contains, cannot be applied without
improving communication and teamwork. It was found from
practice that the remote experiment is much more connected to
the needs of industry than classical laboratories. It has also
been noted that the remote experiment is most often linked to
inter-disciplinarity and that stimulates creativity because it
offers multiple solutions for the same end purpose, and so it
embodies divergent thinking.
Remote experiment sustains multi-cultural because it breaks
geographic limitations and is perfectly subordinate to the
requirements of globalization. Remote experiment can
overcome the lack of flexibility of current accreditation
systems by creating independent courses (MOOC) having the
content certified by the immediate requirements of the
industry and the professional probity of teachers who create
them.
Remote experiments can create skills and competencies faster
than those achieved through classical learning systems in
narrow areas, which education systems do not approach, but of
immediate necessity in industry such as: Big Data (Advances
analytics), cyber security, artificial intelligence (AI) or
industrial Internet of Things (IoT).
The result of the adoption of the remote experiment in
education will be marked, as a result of the all above
considerations, by the increase of the employability of
graduates, on the ground of the direct approach of the
industry's problems. Thus, we consider, the university
environment – industry becomes much more dynamic and
appropriate to the needs, and can provide both a solid basic
training and also a quick response to the moment's needs of
industry, without neglecting the scientific foundations
necessary to forge the personality of a competent global
engineer.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The paper was sustained by the CVTC – Center of
Valorization and Competence Transfer of the Transylvania
University of Brasov-Romania, and the Creativity Laboratory.
REFERENCES
[1] * * * “The Global Competitiveness Report” (2019), Professor Klaus
Schwab
World Economic Forum Editor ISBN-13: 978-2-940631-02-5;
[2] Al-Ashaab A, Flores M, Doultsinou A, Magyar A (2011) “A
balanced scorecard for measuring the impact of industry–
university collaboration”. Prod Plan Control 22:554–570.
[3] Alexander, A. T., & Childe, S. J. (2013). “Innovation: A
knowledge transfer perspective”. Production Planning and
Control, 24(2–3), 208–225.
[4] Al-Tabbaa, O., & Ankrah, S. (2016). “Social capital to facilitate
‘engineered’ university–industry collaboration for technology
transfer: A dynamic perspective.” Technological Forecasting and
Social Change, 104, 1–15.
[5] Bodas F., IM, Verspagen B (2017) “The motivations, institutions
and organization of university-industry collaborations in the
Netherlands”. J Evol Econ 27:379–412.
[6] Buganza, T., Colombo, G., & Landoni, P. (2014). “Small and
development: An analysis of the different phases”. Journal of Small
Business and Enterprise Development, 21(1), 69–86.
[7] Canhoto AI, Quinton S, Jackson P, Dibb S (2016) “The co-
production of value in digital, university-industry R&D
collaborative projects”. Ind Mark Manag 56:86–96.
[8] Galan-Muros, V., & Plewa, C. (2016). “What drives and inhibits
university–business cooperation in Europe? A comprehensive
assessment”. R&D Management, 46(2), 369–382.
[9] Goel R, Göktepe-Hulten D, Grimpe C (2017) “Who instigates
university-industry collaborations? University scientists versus
firm employees”. Small Bus Econ 48:503–524.
[10] McCabe, A., Parker, R., & Cox, S. (2016). “The ceiling to
coproduction in university–industry research collaboration”
Higher Education Research and Development, 35(3), 560–574.
[11] Vega-Jurado J, Kask S, Manjarres-Henriquez L (2017) “University
industry links and product innovation: cooperate or contract?” J of
Technol Manag Innov 12:1–8
]12] Wang Q, Ma J, Liao X, Du W (2017) “A context-aware researcher
recommendation system for university–industry collaboration on
R&D projects”. Decis Support Syst 103:46–57.
[13] Wu H (2017) “The essentiality of sustainability and variety for
industry collaborations with university partners”. Int J Adv Corp
Learn 10:19–29.