Prameco - Practicing Mechanical Engineering Online

Research Project, 2021 – 2023

There is an increasing risk of dropouts in Higher Education because of incomplete digital learning environments. The problem with the traditional theory based distance learning is that students do not have natural social interaction with each other, and there is a risk of exclusion. In addition, learning outcomes may remain low. This is espesially true with laboratory exercises which are an essential part of engineering training. If these cannot be arranged at all due to COVID19 pandemic limitations, it will be impossible to perform the studies.

For this reason PRAMECO project is aiming to tackle these challenges. Thanks to the technical solutions and practices developed and implemented in this project, students and

educators are prepared to meet current challenges caused by the COVID19 pandemic and will be able to successfully continue studies. Additionally, the combination of virtual and physical laboratory environments opens novel possibilities and insights for bigger change in engineering education, for example enabling better e-learning through shared virtual laboratories.

The objectives of the project are:

1. Creating high-quality laboratory videos enriched with interactive content and possibility to adjust process parameters, making it feasible for students to run experiments on-line.

2. Facilitating interactive live sessions together with students and laboratory staff.

3. Opening laboratory hardware for remote access in such a way that students can safely work with the equipment from distance.