12th Conference on Learning Factories, CLF2022

A Teaching Factory Paradigm for Personalized Perception of

Education based on Extended Reality (XR)
Dimitris Mourtzisa,*, John Angelopoulosa, Nikos Panopoulosa1
a
Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, Rio
Patras, 26504, Greece

Abstract

Engineering education is key element to the evolution of the global society. The new generations of engineers, following the
Industrial Revolutions, and more specifically the upcoming Industry 5.0, require new skills and competencies in order to
facilitate this transformation. The scope of the new Industrial Revolution will be to reinforce the Human and Machine Interface
(HMI), based on foundations built during the Industry 4.0. Therefore, classic learning models will have to be adapted to this
reality. Furthermore, the recent global pandemic has facilitated the development of solutions/platforms for the virtual
collaboration for various aspects of everyday life, including professional meetings, educational lectures, academic
collaborations, and personal relationships. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned, the key to the creation of more
robust and resilient education models, lies on the development of new platforms utilizing cutting-edge technologies, such as
Cloud, 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (XR), and Blockchain. Following the mass personalization paradigm
implemented in modern manufacturing, a new paradigm, the “Personalized Perception” is introduced, promoting the constant
adaptation of education to the skills and competencies of students and generate highly capable engineers by elevating their
personal attributes. Therefore, the contribution of this paper is focused on the design and development of a Cloud-based
platform supporting the collaboration between engineering students, academic organizations, research organizations, and
industrial companies as well. The proposed platform engages technologies such as XR, and Blockchain in order to provide
suitable communication channels for collaboration, virtual co-existence, and secure information exchange. Cloud Computing
and 5G are utilized in order to support the seamless information flow. Moreover, AI algorithms can be used for supporting
simulation tools and for the quantifying student skills and competencies. Consequently, this decentralized platform, promotes
the collaboration of the involved parties on a 24/7 basis, providing access to professional tools, complementary to physical
presence.

© 2021 The Authors. This is an open access article.

Peer Review statement: Peer-review statement: Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of
the 11th Conference on Learning Factories 2021.
Keywords: Personalized Education; Industry 5.0; Egnineer 5.0; Decentralization

1. Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the landscape of higher education. Though it is unclear whether those
changes will remain and will continue in the future, it can be easily understood that higher education will never be
the same in some keyways [1]. There is no doubt that during the framework of Industry 4.0, e-learning is a rapidly
growing industry. However, no number of online classes can replace the multisensory experience that a physical
classroom provides. On the other hand, another fact is that online learning platforms are rapidly expanding.
According to [2], new registrations only for edX education platform increased 161% from November 2018 to
November 2020. Additionally, according to [3], the online education industry will grow at a Compound Annual
Growth Rate (GAGR) of 15.44 percent from US$ 187.877 billion in 2019 to US$ 513.140 billion in 2026. E-
learning industry is expected to continue to grow with the introduction of cutting-edge digital technologies such as
Extended Reality (XR), and more specifically Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other newer
pedagogical strategies as well. Higher education takes place in specific social contexts. Teaching and learning is

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +30-2610-910-160

E-mail address: mourtzis@lms.mech.upatras.gr

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 Author Name (Surname, Name), CLF 2022

fundamentally a social activity, and it can be better understood by charting the major social trends that are occurring
both within and outside of it. As such, the challenges and trends regarding the pandemic on the
teaching/learning/education in many fields can be summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Research Challenges and Trends Across Various Fields [1]
Field Challenges
Remote Work/Learning
Social Trends Widening of the Digital Divide
Mental Health Issues
Widespread Adoption of Hybrid Learning Models
Technological Trends Increased Use of Learning Technologies
Online Faculty Development
Decreasing Higher Education Funding
Economic Trends Uncertainty in Economic Models
Demand for New/Different Workforce Skills
Climate Change (Less produced carbon footprint)
Environmental Trends Reduction in Work Travel
Sustainable Development
Increase in Online Globalization
Political Trends Rise of Nationalism
Public Funding for Higher Education

1.1. Aim of Paper

As a result, traditional learning models will need to be adapted to this new reality. Furthermore, the recent
global pandemic has aided the development of virtual collaboration solutions/platforms for a variety of everyday
activities, including professional meetings, educational lectures, academic collaborations, and personal
relationships. To that end, the development of new platforms utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as Cloud,
5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (XR), and Blockchain is critical to the creation of more robust
and resilient education models. Additionally, following the mass personalization paradigm implemented in modern
manufacturing, it becomes critical for education to be tailored to each student's skills and competencies in order
to produce highly capable engineers by enhancing their personal attributes. As a result, the aim of this paper is to
present the design and development of a Cloud-based platform that facilitates collaboration among engineering
students, academic institutions, research institutions, and industrial firms. Ultimately, based on the integration of
pillar Industry 4.0 technologies, as well as the adoption of the phygital concept, in this research work, a new
paradigm, the “Personalized Perception” is introduced, in an attempt to facilitate students utilize their skills and
competencies, and improve other personal aspects as well. Moreover, academic educators will be more capable in
assessing students and focus their educational/training practices on a personalized basis.
2. State-of-the-Art
2.1. Teaching Factory and Industry 4.0 Technologies
Research, education, and innovation are the three fundamental and highly interdependent drivers of a
knowledge-based society. They are also referred to as "knowledge triangle" The integration of these three pillars
of the knowledge triangle into a single framework for promoting manufacturing education has resulted to the so-
called Teaching Factory (TF) concept [4]. The TF allows learners to gain hands-on experience that benefits their
personal and professional development. At the same time, this will allow technicians to gain manufacturing
experience and new skills, as well as cope with and respond to industry demands. TF paradigms can empower the
Small Medium Enterprises (SME) Ecosystem by exposing them to new technologies and research approaches in
Industry 4.0 environments [5, 6]. As a result, TF focuses on bi-fold knowledge transfer from academia to industry.
Furthermore, TF Network serves as a virtual forum for actors across the manufacturing knowledge triangle by
coordinating learning material and delivery channels tailored to each participant's specific needs and demands,
connecting academia's learning/training capacities with industrial organizations' demands for 'outsourcing'
manufacturing initiatives, and promoting the launch of learning/training channels [7]. Based on the
abovementioned, it is obvious that most of the pillar technologies of Industry 4.0 have to be applied in order to
design, develop and implement such TF paradigms. As such, according to the literature, VR and AR technologies
enable New Product Development (NPD) success in the industry by providing quick responses to consumers in
order to improve the performance of new products. Next, the authors in [8] present an AR-based collaborative
design system that allows users to visualize and modify virtual product models via intuitive interfaces. In addition,
[9] presents a framework for collaborative product design based on AR in a TF paradigm. The participants
designed and developed a Cloud platform to facilitate file sharing, data storage, and collaborative design. Last but
not least, it is crucial to “think-outside of the box” and take advantage of technologies that belong to other fields
such as Blockchain [10] or Tactile Internet [11] by integrating them to manufacturing and learning purposes.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4071876

 Author Name (Surname, Name), CLF 2022

2.2. Personalized Education

Before the pandemic, education was already undergoing digital transformation. There is no doubt, however,
that the global health crisis has accelerated the transformation and compelled education providers to seek solutions
that can ensure learning continuity for all students [12]. Personalized education is defined as the data-driven
adaptation of any aspect of instructional practice to a specific learner's relevant characteristics. All variables that
explain (or are assumed to explain) variance in learning outcomes are considered relevant learner characteristics.
Instruction is defined as any interaction between a learner and a teacher that has (or is assumed to have) direct or
indirect relevance to the learning process [13]. The adaptation of instructional materials to fit the learner's "learning
style" is one of the most common forms of personalization in digital learning environments [14]. In Fig. 1, the
personalized teaching factory model is presented based on the principles of Control System Modelling. The
“Personalized Perception” paradigm can be defined as a new paradigm, which enables both students and
educators to assess the individual learning characteristics, and by extension to establish adaptable
teaching/learning models, taking into consideration students’ skills, competences, and interests. In brief the main
goals of Personalized Perception paradigm can be summarized as follows: 1) Building an educational strategy
tailor-made to each student’s unique strengths, needs, skills, and interests, 2) Provision of a learning plan based
on existing knowledge and further improvement areas.

Fig. 1. The Teaching Factory concept as a closed-loop control system

2.3. Phygital Learning Concept

At this point a new term is introduced, the concept of Phygital Learning. “Phygital, is a term for the integration
of digital elements in the physical environment, for enhancing the learner’s experience, hence the two keywords,
PHYsical diGITAL are merged”. Even before the COVID-19, education was undergoing a digital revolution that
was transforming its practices. As a result of the pandemic, education has shifted dramatically into a hybrid or
phygital mode. As a result, campus-based experiential learning should be prioritized in higher education
transformation plans. Unlike the traditional Teaching Factory (TF) Model or the Hybrid/Digital TF [15] which
dematerializes everything, the (proposed) Phygital Factory (PF) will allow contributors to observe, learn and,
above all, touch by materializing innovation with virtual and physical applications which show great potential for
higher education. It is observed that by relying on collective intelligence and the connecting logic, this PF concept
can create very good conditions for innovation in both process and pedagogical aspects. Phygital was coined as a
term in the retail industry, despite the fact that its concept is applicable to a wide range of fields, particularly
education. Phygital concepts appeal to the deeper senses rather than just digital perception because people can
physically touch, smell, and taste the product while perceiving an interesting, well-designed digital media [16]. To
that end, smart learning ecosystems can be used to describe phygital learning. This type of education systematically
balances the power of digital with physical spaces, with an emphasis on subjects that are linked to skills.
3. Proposed Framework
In the following paragraphs the proposed framework and the main modules comprising it will be discussed. the
framework can be realized as Cloud platform, where all the participants can connect and interact. The platform is
also supported by several services for improving the user experience. In Fig. 2 a high-level illustration of the
system architecture is presented. In an attempt to ensure better user experience, the framework is based on the
implementation of four (4) different user groups, in particular the Students, the Academia, the Research
Organizations, and the Industry. In its essence, the classification of users into groups enables the access to the
necessary material/services, as well as the abilities to create/delete/view content on the platform.

Digital personalized education is a broad term that refers to online teaching and learning that makes use of
digital services and platforms. Efficient online education is dependent on factors such as fast and dependable
internet connectivity, learning software, digital skills, affordability, and exposure to technology. The novelty of
the proposed framework lies in the fact that it offers synchronous Online Services such as Online Meetings,
Webinars, Tutorials and Consultation or Chat on frequently asked questions. At the same time, it also offers
asynchronous Online or Offline services for learning or project work such as a repository with educational material,
recorded lessons or tests, online and collaborative preparation of team reports and finally the capability to connect
and train virtual infrastructures (i.e. Virtual Machine Shop with 5G based Tactile Internet capabilities, AR

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 Author Name (Surname, Name), CLF 2022

assembly applications, CAD similarity services and so on). Additionally, the Cloud-based Personalized Learning
Platform offers the capability to upload new additional input/material in order to update and enrich the educational
material. This can be done from the administrator members of Academia/Research Organizations or Industrial
Stakeholders taking into consideration copyright issues.

Fig. 2. Proposed system architecture

Next, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used for student’s quantification based on their questions to a short
questionnaire following the methodology already presented in [17]. It has to be mentioned that young engineers
who participate in such projects, denoted as smart academic contracts, can benefit because they can justify their
participation while also receiving academic credits rather than financial compensation through the developed
Blockchain Tool for Engineering Education. It must be emphasized that the integration of the concept of
cryptocurrency is done in order to secure academic credits that include sensitive data protected information.
Additionally, the Cloud-based Personalized Learning Platform, following the lessons learned during the lockdown
periods provoked by COVID-19, has been designed to a resilient and adaptive to external disruptions manner in
order to ensure the reliability and the high quality of the curriculum.
3.1. Personalized Content
One of the key elements of the platform is the generation of suggestions based on the user’s profile, searches,
and their profile while browsing the platform. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain certain types of information
about each user. Starting from the user registration, users select their major area, and the courses they follow during
their studies. Besides that, in order to keep track of the user’s activity, a cookie policy has been adopted. At this
point it is stressed out that cookies are specific data files, which are automatically recalled whenever a user interacts
with the front end of the platform. In the proposed framework permanent type cookies are used, which are not
deleted after each session, i.e. the browser is closed. This module, in conjunction with the personal achievements,
and the portfolio students maintain in their profiles, facilitate in the personalization of the educational material
suggested by the platform, as well as the suggestion of activities from academic peers.
3.2. Blockchain Service
As the name implies, this service is relevant to the generation and conservation of a blockchain in order to
ensure that all the achievements of the students, their participation in projects, the collaboration with industrial
stakeholders is securely tracked and saved. However, it has to be clarified that in contrast with the commonly
blockchain activities in the worldwide web (see cryptocurrencies), the current implementation is not intended to
be a source of financial interest for any of the platform users/participants.
3.3. Advanced Simulation Services
The advanced simulation services refer to a special series of services which support the creation of engineering
models, in particular mechanical, structural, electrical, fluid dynamics etc.. The provision of these services aims at
the engagement of students in working on their projects remotely, by providing access to these tools. However, in
an attempt to reward students for the utilization of these services, as well as for contributing to their experience
portfolio, reward points are granted to each user for on an hourly basis.

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3.4. Extended Reality – XR Service

Extended Reality, which encapsulates Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR),
is one of the nine pillar technologies of Industry 4.0. These high-end digital technologies can facilitate users by
enhancing their perception, both in their physical environment, or in a totally virtual environment. The Extended
Reality is a key service of the proposed framework because the students are not limited to textbook descriptions
or illustrations. They are offered a personalized service/experience to percept and learn subjects by experiencing
them with their whole body, virtually, regardless of where they are. Additionally, through the VR the level of
immersion and engagement creates a positive learning experience that allows participants to remember pieces of
information in an easiest manner. Another advantage of XR technology is its capability to create personalised
learning experiences for the stakeholders. This is possible by gaining access to analytics data captured by XR
devices' embedded tracking features, such as VR headsets. Students' movements and interactions in XR can
indicate attentiveness and engagement. The same data can also be used by educators to generate predictive insights
and determine how to address learning gaps in individuals or groups. By this way, they may customize lessons to
the learning needs of each student separately.
3.5. Content Creation Services
The content creation services, are targeted for the Academia (i.e. the teaching personnel), the research
organizations, and the Industrial partners. The above-mentioned user groups are capable of creating and publishing
content on the platform, which is accessible from the students. Regarding the academics, they can upload material
for further studying and projects as well. The industrial partners in conjunction with the academics can create
online lectures and hybrid laboratory exercises. Finally, the research organizations, can create opportunities for
students to participate in research projects and get rewarded with tokens as discussed in the previous paragraphs.
4. System Implementation
For the implementation of the proposed architecture as discussed in the previous Section, several software and
hardware tools have been utilized. With regards to the software, the front end of the platform, has been developed
using HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Furthermore, in order to enable the support of dynamic content in
the HTML front end, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) scripts have also been developed. For supporting file exchange
between the platform users FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol) protocols have been implemented. Regarding the development of the XR services and functionalities,
the Unity 3D game engine has been utilized, along with the Vuforia API (Application Programming Interface) and
the Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK). The scripts required for the XR services are developed in C# using the MS
Visual Studio IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
5. Case Study
The TF case study involved a “real-life” engineering challenge to be elaborated by engineering students under
the supervision of the University Professors and Industrial Technicians. Two teams consisting of 10 undergraduate
engineers (8th semester) under the lesson “Computer Numerical Control” participated in this TF both digitally via
the Cloud-based Platform watching (live or on-demand) Hybrid Webinars (Fig. 3a) of Industrial Technicians as
well as collaborating with other students using the Service of VR-based Collaborative Design (Fig. 3d). During
this course the student are assigned with weekly exercises for designing 3D components (create CAD files of the
components) and develop the G-code to be executed for the production/manufacturing of the components. The
component One of the two teams followed the traditional way of executing the exercises, whereas the second team
used the developed platform, in an attempt to assess the usability of the platform. More specifically, with the
utilization of the VR collaborative design service the student were capable of setting up and joining design
sessions, minimizing the time to complete the design of the required components. By extension, the students were
granted access to simulation tools, thus facilitating the optimization/correction of the initial design resulting to an
approximate 17% increase of the students’ performance vs the team following the conventional method. The
results were tracked based on the students’ grades. Furthermore, with the utilization of the platform capabilities,
the students were capable of posting questions/topics for discussion, encouraging the direct communication
between the students, the academic personnel, and the industrial experts, which has contributed (positively) to the
assignment completion by approximately 5%. This result could be further improved (i.e. further reduce time), by
integrating such technologies in the learning models, thus familiarizing student with the technologies and tools.
At this point, it is stressed out that such information could be saved on NoSQL database, in order to be further
processed and generate automated suggestions to students. This functionality could be considered as an extension
of the Personalized content module (presented in the previous paragraphs). Additionally, the gained knowledge
from the provided services was tested and certified (via Blockchain) during the Live Training Session (Fig. 3b and
3c). As it regards the outcome of the TF, it was concluded that: 1) VR training has the potential to improve student
learning outcomes more than traditional methods, 2) Students who used/learned and trained through XR, scored

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 Author Name (Surname, Name), CLF 2022

17% higher on the final grades than those who learned only through the traditional way, and 3) Students who
completed VR and live training, were certified with a virtual certification in their virtual educational wallet.

Fig. 3. Teaching Factory Services: a) Hybrid Webinar, b) Live Training, c) Hands-on Experience and d) VR-based Collaborative Design

6. Conclusion and Outlook

In this research work, a platform integrating pillar technologies of Industry 4.0 has been presented. Among the
key technologies used are, Cloud technologies, XR, advanced simulation, Blockchain, and 5G technologies. The
aim of this platform is to enhance the emerging hybrid teaching/learning models, based on the provision of high-
end tools and applications. More specifically, different stakeholders participating in the engineering education, in
particular the students, the Academia, the Research Organizations as well as the Industrial partners, are provided
with sufficient communication channels in order to build stronger relationships and improve the education of
young engineers. The research work presented in the previous section has been supported both in theoretical and
practical level by a group of engineering students, which have examined the challenges of integrating such
technologies in existing teaching/learning models and have also assisted the development of the platform and its
modules. Future work will focus on the personalized aspect of the platform, in order to customize the content of
the services based on the integration of a similarity engine. This module will consider several inputs from the
platform, assess the user expertise and their skills and competencies and by extension will optimize the content
displayed to the students. Ultimately, this module will facilitate students focus in areas requiring improvement, as
well as will provide useful insights to educators in order to guide their students more efficiently.
References
[1] Κ. Pelletier, Μ. Brown, C. D. Brooks, M. McCormack, J. Reeves, N. Arbino, V. Mondelli, 2021 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report Teaching
and Learning Edition, (2021).
[2] A. Aleem, What to Expect of Education Sector in 2022?, Available at: https://evelynlearning.com/what-to-expect-of-education-sector-in-
2022 (Accessed on 05 January 2022).
[3] P. K., Ozili, T. Arun, Spillover of COVID-19: impact on the Global Economy, (2020). Available at SSRN 3562570.
[4] G. Chryssolouris, D. Mavrikios, L. Rentzos. The teaching factory: a manufacturing education paradigm, Procedia CIRP, 57 (2016) 44-48.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2016.11.009
[5] D. Mavrikios, N. Papakostas, D. Mourtzis, G. Chryssolouris, On industrial learning and training for the factories of the future: a conceptual,
cognitive and technology framework, J Intell Manuf., 24 (2013) 473–485. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10845-011-0590-9
[6] P. Stavropoulos, A. M., Korfiati, N. Panopoulos, D. Mourtzis, A Smart Learning Model Targeting Regional SME Ecosystems: A
Conceptual Framework, (2021). Available at SSRN 3859454.
[7] D. Mavrikios, K. Georgoulias, G. Chryssolouris, The teaching factory network: A new collaborative paradigm for manufacturing education,
9th Conference on Learning Factories, Procedia Manufacturing, 31 (2019) 398-403. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2019.03.062
[8] Y. Shen, S. K. Ong, A. Y. C. Nee, Augmented reality for collaborative product design and development, Design Studies, 31 (2010) 118.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2009.11.001
[9] D. Mourtzis, V. Siatras, J. Angelopoulos, N. Panopoulos, An Augmented Reality Collaborative Product Design Cloud-Based Platform in
the Context of Learning Factory, Procedia Manufacturing, 45 (2020) 546-551. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.04.076
[10] D. Mourtzis, D., J. Angelopoulos, N. Panopoulos, Blockchain in Engineering Education: The Teaching Factory Paradigm. (2021).
Available at SSRN 3859151.
[11] D. Mourtzis, J. Angelopoulos, N. Panopoulos, Development of a Teaching Factory Framework Fusing a Virtual Simulated Machine Shop
With The Physical Counterpart For Upscaling Human Machine Interface. (2021). Available at SSRN 3859139.
[12] P. Andersson, L.G. Mattsson, Future digitalization of education after COVID-19. Available at: https://www.hhs.se/en/research/sweden-
through-the-crisis/future-digitalization-of-education-after-covid-19/
[13] L. Tetzlaff, F, Schmiedek, G. Brod, Developing personalized education: A dynamic framework. Educational Psychology Review, 33(3),
(2020), 863-882. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09570-w.
[14] A, Kumar, N. J. Ahuja, An adaptive framework of learner model using learner characteristics for intelligent tutoring systems. Adv. Intell.
Syst. Comput. (2020), 2020989, 425–433. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8618-3_45
[15] D. Mourtzis, N. Panopoulos, J. Angelopoulos, S. Zygomalas, G. Dimitrakopoulos, P. Stavropoulos, A Hybrid Teaching Factory Model
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[17] D. Mourtzis, J. Angelopoulos, V. Siatras, N. Panopoulos, A Methodology for the Assessment of Operator 4.0 Skills based on Sentiment
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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4071876

A Teaching Factory Paradigm for Personalized
Perception of Education based on Extended
Reality (XR)
Reply to Reviewers

The authors of this paper would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable feedback and
constructive comments. Based on their feedback they were able to perform a thorough
revision of the paper and address possible issues existing in the first submission. The answers
prepared, together with the respective comments that they address, are provided below.

Reviewer 1:
1. Comments on the novelty in this paper
The main contribution of this paper is focused on the design and development of a Cloud-
based platform supporting the collaboration between engineering students, academic
organizations, research organizations, and industrial companies as well.

Response:
No action required.

2. Comments on the problem formulation and solution approach

The proposed platform engages technologies such as XR, and Blockchain in order to provide
suitable communication channels for collaboration, virtual co-existence, and secure
information exchange. Cloud Computing and 5G are utilized in order to support the seamless
information flow. Moreover, AI algorithms can be used for supporting simulation tools and for
the quantifying student skills and competencies. Consequently, this decentralized platform,
promotes the collaboration of the involved parties on a 24/7 basis, providing access to
professional tools, complementary to physical presence.

Response:
No action required.

3. Comments on the results and analysis

The research work presented has been supported both in theoretical and practical level by a
group of engineering students, which have examined the challenges of integrating such
technologies in existing teaching/learning models and have also assisted the development of
the platform and its modules.

Response:
No action required.

4. Comments on the conclusion and recommendation for future work

The module will ultimately help to facilitate students focus in areas requiring improvement,
as well as will provide useful insights to educators in order to guide their students more
efficiently

Response:
No action required.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4071876

5. Comments on other aspects: background, references, writing style, grammar,
etc.
Nil

Response:
No action required.

Review 2
1. Comments on the novelty in this paper
4/5.The paper introduces novel concepts such as personalised perception, phygital learning
and implemented cutting edge technologies such as 5G, AI, blockchain, XR in the proposed
education platform.

Response:
No action required.

2. Comments on the problem formulation and solution approach

3.5/5. Problem formulation is well written and provides a good background to the problem.
Proposed solution is explained thoroughly.

Response:
No action required.

3. Comments on the results and analysis

2/5. More should be written about the case study as it will help the reader to understand
more on how the platform can be applied in an engineering education setting.

Response:
4. Comments on the conclusion and recommendation for future work
3/5. Conclusion and recommendation

Response:
No action required.

5. Comments on other aspects: background, references, writing style, grammar,

etc.
3/5. Paper is quite well written but there could be better organisation in terms of allocating
more content for the results and case studies and maybe less for the introduction and related
works.

Response:
Taking into consideration the comment raised by the reviewer, we have revised our
manuscript, in order to improve the organization/presentation of the research work. More
specifically, the following text has been added in Section 5 “Case Study”, providing additional
details. (the added text is highlighted with blue fonts)
“The TF case study involved a “real-life” engineering challenge to be elaborated by engineering
students under the supervision of the University Professors and Industrial Technicians. Two teams
consisting of 10 undergraduate engineers (8th semester) under the lesson “Computer Numerical Control”
participated in this TF both digitally via the Cloud-based Platform watching (live or on-demand) Hybrid

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4071876

Webinars (Fig. 3a) of Industrial Technicians as well as collaborating with other students using the Service
of VR-based Collaborative Design (Fig. 3d). During this course the student are assigned with weekly
exercises for designing 3D components (create CAD files of the components) and develop the G-code to
be executed for the production/manufacturing of the components. The component One of the two
teams followed the traditional way of executing the exercises, whereas the second team used the
developed platform, in an attempt to assess the usability of the platform. More specifically, with the
utilization of the VR collaborative design service the student were capable of setting up and joining
design sessions, minimizing the time to complete the design of the required components. By extension,
the students were granted access to simulation tools, thus facilitating the optimization/correction of
the initial design resulting to an approximate 17% increase of the students’ performance vs the team
following the conventional method. The results were tracked based on the students’ grades.
Furthermore, with the utilization of the platform capabilities, the students were capable of posting
questions/topics for discussion, encouraging the direct communication between the students, the
academic personnel, and the industrial experts, which has contributed (positively) to the assignment
completion by approximately 5%. This result could be further improved (i.e. further reduce time), by
integrating such technologies in the learning models, thus familiarizing student with the technologies
and tools. At this point, it is stressed out that such information could be saved on NoSQL database, in
order to be further processed and generate automated suggestions to students. This functionality could
be considered as an extension of the Personalized content module (presented in the previous
paragraphs). Additionally, the gained knowledge from the provided services was tested and certified
(via Blockchain) during the Live Training Session (Fig. 3b and 3c). As it regards the outcome of the TF, it
was concluded that: 1) VR training has the potential to improve student learning outcomes more than
traditional methods, 2) Students who used/learned and trained through XR, scored 17% higher on the
final grades than those who learned only through the traditional way, and 3) Students who completed
VR and live training, were certified with a virtual certification in their virtual educational wallet.”

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4071876