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Preparing undergraduate students for work in virtual product development teams

Žavbi, Roman and Tavcar, Joze LU (2005) In Computers & Education 44(4). p.357-376
Abstract
The development of innovative and competitive products and mastery of IT&T technologies are crucial for a company's long-term success in the global market. The main flag bearers for development are product developers, but it is questionable whether the existing systems are appropriate for the education of such professionals. For example, one study found large deficiencies concerning their skills in group interaction and ability to translate thoughts into action. Based on these and similar findings, a decision was made to organize an international course that would help students become competent members of product development teams. Integrated product development is a demanding and complex activity as it is, and its level of difficulty... (More)
The development of innovative and competitive products and mastery of IT&T technologies are crucial for a company's long-term success in the global market. The main flag bearers for development are product developers, but it is questionable whether the existing systems are appropriate for the education of such professionals. For example, one study found large deficiencies concerning their skills in group interaction and ability to translate thoughts into action. Based on these and similar findings, a decision was made to organize an international course that would help students become competent members of product development teams. Integrated product development is a demanding and complex activity as it is, and its level of difficulty is additionally increased by the ever-changing business environment, primarily by functional associating of geographically disperse human resources. The paper describes the E-GPR (European Global Product Realization) course program, the used IT&T technologies, the way international teams were formed and the experiences and findings of the students, company representatives and lecturers who participated in this course. The authors believe that realism is the main strength of the course. Based on positive responses of all participants, the organizers decided to continue and further improve the E-GPR course. (Less)
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author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Application in product development, Collaborative learning, Multimedia systems, Computer-mediated communication
categories
Higher Education
in
Computers & Education
volume
44
issue
4
pages
20 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:10644221924
ISSN
0360-1315
DOI
10.1016/j.compedu.2004.02.007
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
7e418cf3-220e-40cb-8ea4-03a11a180615
date added to LUP
2020-10-13 17:27:25
date last changed
2022-03-03 18:51:26
@article{7e418cf3-220e-40cb-8ea4-03a11a180615,
  abstract     = {{The development of innovative and competitive products and mastery of IT&T technologies are crucial for a company's long-term success in the global market. The main flag bearers for development are product developers, but it is questionable whether the existing systems are appropriate for the education of such professionals. For example, one study found large deficiencies concerning their skills in group interaction and ability to translate thoughts into action. Based on these and similar findings, a decision was made to organize an international course that would help students become competent members of product development teams. Integrated product development is a demanding and complex activity as it is, and its level of difficulty is additionally increased by the ever-changing business environment, primarily by functional associating of geographically disperse human resources. The paper describes the E-GPR (European Global Product Realization) course program, the used IT&T technologies, the way international teams were formed and the experiences and findings of the students, company representatives and lecturers who participated in this course. The authors believe that realism is the main strength of the course. Based on positive responses of all participants, the organizers decided to continue and further improve the E-GPR course.}},
  author       = {{Žavbi, Roman and Tavcar, Joze}},
  issn         = {{0360-1315}},
  keywords     = {{Application in product development; Collaborative learning; Multimedia systems; Computer-mediated communication}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{357--376}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Computers & Education}},
  title        = {{Preparing undergraduate students for work in virtual product development teams}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2004.02.007}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.compedu.2004.02.007}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}