Hard Skill Gap between University Education and the Robotic Industry

Abstract

This study explores the technical skills gap between university education and the robotic industry in two phases. In phase one, interviews were conducted with 7 experts from the industry to find out five key technical aspects and the corresponding professional courses that are important for students before work. In phase two, based on experts’ responses to the questionnaires, an Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) was carried out. The results suggest that effort should be directed at improving the current courses on “Artificial Intelligence,” “Machine Vision,” and “Robot Structure Design” in university education. Authors call for further research to explore the gap from professors’ and students’ perspectives to gain a more comprehensive understanding of factors that should be considered in the planning of robotic talent training courses.