Navigating the ever-changing landscape of product offerings requires continuous evolution and innovation. In 2018, TecQuipment embarked on a project centred on assessing the practical aspects of engineering education. The project highlighted key considerations such as enhancing practical teaching, managing costs, equipment availability, and optimising lab utilisation.
Building on the insights gained from this project, a subsequent research initiative was undertaken in 2021. This involved the distribution of a survey through email and social media channels to gather valuable market insights. The aim was to discern the prevailing trends in engineering education and identify avenues for product enhancement that would remain pertinent and valuable to customers. The collected survey data formed the basis for an internal focus group to brainstorm new product solutions. Subsequently, an external focus group comprising academics was engaged to evaluate and refine these proposed solutions.
For a comprehensive understanding of the market, research becomes an ongoing endeavour, ensuring continued relevance. The central goal of TecQuipment's research was to amass insights that would guide the direction of our product development strategy. The survey revealed that educators perceive inadequate funding as a significant challenge in engineering teaching. This was closely followed by the observation that practical lab experiences often lack real-world connections. Other challenges included a shortage of skilled staff and students' limited hands-on capabilities. Educators believed that these issues could be addressed by incorporating real-world examples, enhancing student engagement strategies, providing more hands-on equipment time, and fostering collaboration between accreditation bodies and institutes.
The outcomes of the internal focus group generated solutions in four key domains: digital enhancements, physical tools, novel learning methods, and video integration. These solutions were then presented to the external academic focus group, tasked with evaluating their feasibility and relevance to engineering education. Both focus groups endorsed the integration of Augmented Reality (AR) as a powerful tool for student engagement and learning. While focus group 1 envisioned using mobile phones as sources for data input and capture with our Virtual Data Acquisition Systems (VDAS), focus group 2 suggested incorporating mobile phones as experimental sensors within lab exercises.
AR emerged as a versatile tool for visualising complex concepts, offering applications ranging from 3D imagery of products and interactive experiments to troubleshooting and stress analysis. Interactive worksheets and templated graphs were also highlighted as aids to enhance student understanding.
Practical skills development was emphasised by both focus groups. Group 1 championed hands-on product assembly in lab sessions, enabling students to encounter real-world errors and challenges. Group 2 discussed the inclusion of simulated faults to teach the distinction between precision and accuracy, alongside personal risk assessment.
The research underscored future avenues for product development that resonated with the engineering educational market. Translating these findings into actionable points, TecQuipment seeks to incorporate these solutions into our product offerings, ensuring that customer needs remain at the forefront of their product development journey.