What to consider at the development of educational programs and courses about next-generation cyber-physical systems?

Abstract

We live in an age in which new things are emerging faster that their deep understanding. This statement in particularly applies to doing research and educating university students concerning next generation cyber-physical systems (NG-CPSs). The fast evolution of this system paradigm would have expected a rapid and comprehensive paradigmatic change in research and education concerning this family of systems. However, this has not happened yet. Seeking for a sufficing explanation, this paper reviews the current literature and makes an attempt to cast light on the most significant recent developments in the field of NG-CPSs. The main assumptions of the authors are that research and education should appear in harmony in academic knowledge acquisition and distribution processes, and that academic education of NG-CPSs should be organized and conducted according to a defendable future vision. Combining the results of a broadly-based study of the literature with prognostic critical thinking and personal experiences, this review-based position paper first discusses the current socio-techno-scientific environment, the involved stakeholders, and the demands and two approaches of truly systems-oriented education. Then, it concentrates on the recognized limitations of mono- and interdisciplinary research, and on supradisciplinary approach and transdisciplinary knowledge generation for NG-CPSs. As main contributions, the paper (i) identifies and analyzes the latest theoretical, engineering, and technological developments, (ii) reveals the major trends and their presumably significant implications, (iii) presents a number of thought-provoking findings and makes propositions about the desirable actions.