Abstract—Entrepreneurial and innovative engineers that are
needed by industry either as employers or employees emanate
from the universities. However, literature emphasises that there
is a need for closing the gap between students’ university studies
and industry expectation because most students are simply a
liability during the early phases of their career life. To bridge
such a gap, students should be trained to solve the real world
problems using a systematic, integrative approach such as the
University-Sponsored Student Business Venture (USSBV)
model. The latter should take place in the non-lecturer
dominated environment which foster interdisciplinary and
hands-on learning approach that provides students with
life-long experiences. This paper presents a case of how the
USSBV model could be used in a Learning Factory (LF) as the
didactic method for training students to gain the flair of
entrepreneurship and innovation. The aim of the training would
be for students to apply their theoretical content to a real
working environment to experience or establish new ventures
that could solve industrial and societal problems. For example,
the train safety and ergonomics problems present an
opportunity on how the USSBV model could be used to train
students in the LF and thereby, give students opportunities of
generating ideas as solutions for the problem and be equipped at
commercializing those ideas. In this regard, the application of
the USSBV model in the LF results in project-based learning
and non-lecturer dominated learning environment that source
ideas directly from the industry/society. This will develop and
enhance students’ technical and soft skills (i.e. collaboration,
communication, presentation, and critical thinking).
Index Terms—Entrepreneurship and innovation, learning
factory, non-lecturer environment, open innovation model.
The authors are with Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), South
Africa (e-mail: Vusi.Malele@dst.gov.za).
Cite: Vusumuzi Malele, Khumbulani Mpofu, and Mammo Muchie, "The Use of the USSBV Model as a Mechanism for Training in a Learning Factory," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 908-912, 2018.