Authors:
J. Antão B. Moura
1
;
Marcelo A. de Barros
1
and
Francilene P. Garcia
2
Affiliations:
1
Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil
;
2
Federal University of Campina Grande and Technology Park Foundation of the State of Paraíba, Brazil
Keyword(s):
Blended Learning, Blended Consulting, Prototyping, Production and Logistics Support Services, Financial
Restrictions, Business Incubator, Collective Intelligence, Lab Virtualization, Validation, Case Study.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Blended Learning
;
Communities of Practice
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Information Technologies Supporting Learning
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Project Based Learning and Engineering Education
;
Society, e-Business and e-Government
;
Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning
;
Web Information Systems and Technologies
Abstract:
Start-ups and other innovative, but small enterprises – such as those associated with business incubators -
usually have financial limitations that hinder their attempt to properly address product and service lifecycle
challenges. Some of these challenges regard aspects of prototyping, production and logistics (PPL). Inability
to properly address PPL challenges sometimes delays time-to-market too long, causing the company to fail.
In order to assist companies to efficiently address PPL challenges, a low-operating-cost, risk-seeking, PPL
Service Centre is being planned for an incubator in Brazil. In order to account for financial restrictions, the
Centre’s operations are to be based on blended learning pedagogy but expanded to encompass provision of
consulting services and access to laboratory and workshop’ facilities. Creating such a Centre is timing
consuming and resource intensive. Therefore it must be demonstrated that the investment will be
worthwhile. A small investigation has b
een conducted which has looked into the PPL needs of technologybased
enterprises associated with the incubator. The results have been used to specify and initially operate
the Centre to allow for a more blended style in service provision. This paper summarizes the investigation,
its results and the Centre’s initial operation and preliminary achievements.
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