Educational Methodology Based on Active Learning for Mechatronics Engineering Students: Towards Educational Mechatronics

The world is experiencing a new stage, the Fourth Industrial Revolution or also called Industry 4.0, which promotes the digital revolution of industries through the use of artificial intelligence and the internet of things; this revolution will generate new jobs. This work proposes the creation of Educational Mechatronics, which is an educational methodology that aims to develop the skills and abilities required by the jobs of the new industrial era by promoting the analytical thinking as a previous step forward critical thinking competence, allowing to generate solutions and innovative proposals for problems of industrial automation and automatic process control that companies from the industrial sector experience nowadays. The educational mechatronics integrates the Educational Model of the University, resources and existing academic spaces, practical activities and mechatronic prototypes focused on promoting the critical thinking of Mechatronic Engineering students through active learning. In addition, it is sought that with the inclusion of the Educational Mechatronics the level of attraction of the students for their career will be increased by having an intensive active participation in experimental sessions and thus reduce the percentage of student desertion. The forecoming engineers need to be trained with an innovative educational methodology since they will be in charge of strengthening and promoting the next technological revolution Industry 4.0, promoting new business and the social and economic development of the countries.