The New Normal in Engineering Education: The Role of Digitalisation and Virtual Laboratories

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digitalisation in all aspects and engineering education was no exception. With a move towards virtual classrooms in universities, gaps in traditional face-to-face lab meetings came to the forefront. It was then that virtual laboratories emerged as a promising solution that allowed students to conduct practice training without any physical constraints.

Online laboratories allow students to conduct experiments again and again, explore simulations, and work with materials that would be inaccessible due to costs or danger. For engineering students, this means gaining competencies and abilities that are valuable to professional development even while learning remotely.

The “new normal” for engineering education in the coming era will be a hybrid model that will combine physical labs and virtual labs. That will not only make engineering education flexible but will prepare students better for engineering practice in the present-day industry, where virtual tools and digital presence collaboration become a part of everyday working life.

Author
Mehmet KARA
Early Stage Researcher in VILLAGE Project
Ph.D. Candidate, Ege University