Integrating multi-layer digital twins into engineering education: a design-based research framework for industry 4.0 competency development
Antonio Carlos Bento, Alejandra Molina-Leal, José Reinaldo Silva, Hugo Elimio Padron Gomes, Saul Eduardo Tobias-Rodriguez, Emilio Marroquín-Treviño, Juan Pablo Grajeda-Sanchez
- Journal
- Frontiers in Education
- Autor
- Antonio Carlos Bento, Alejandra Molina-Leal, José Reinaldo Silva, Hugo Elimio Padron Gomes, Saul Eduardo Tobias-Rodriguez, Emilio Marroquín-Treviño, Juan Pablo Grajeda-Sanchez
- Book Title
- Volume
- 11
- Página(s)
- 1-21
- DOI
- 10.3389/feduc.2026.1925782
- Publicada
- 2026
- Month
- Tipo de Documento
- Artigo em Revista
- Abstract
- This study presents a Design-Based Research (DBR) framework integrating Digital Twin development into undergraduate engineering education through Project-Based Learning. Sixty students across eighteen teams worked in project teams toward a multi-layer Digital Twin architecture for a manufacturing process, spanning process analysis, discrete-event simulation (Siemens Tecnomatix Plant Simulation), three-dimensional validation (Process Simulate/CAD), SCADA visualization (Node-RED, Firebase), and AI-assisted decision support (Gemini API); all 18 teams completed the process-analysis through 3D-validation stages, while 15/18 teams completed the SCADA stage and 16/18 completed the AI-assisted decision-support stage within the available course timeframe. Competency assessment using a structured rubric (κ = 0.78 inter-rater reliability) indicated that students demonstrated systems thinking, simulation modeling, industrial automation, and evidence-based decision-making. Cohort-level simulation outputs ranged from 720 to 850 units (mean = 789, SD = 38), with 14/18 teams identifying common capacity-mismatch challenges. The framework offers a potentially adaptable model for integrating Industry 4.0 technologies into engineering curricula, preparing students for the technological and human-centered challenges of contemporary manufacturing.
- Keywords
- Publisher
- MDPI
- URL