DOI: 10.1002/sres.

2702

RESEARCH PAPER

Education supply chain in the era of Industry 4.0

Ling Li

Department of IT and Decision Sciences,

Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Abstract
Virginia, USA To date, there is a very limited literature on the use of systems ideas and
methodologies as a basis for developing curriculum or courses. To fill the gap,
Correspondence
Ling Li, Department of IT and Decision this study has made several contributions by employing systems theory and
Sciences, Old Dominion University, thinking in analysing issues related to higher education. Industry 4.0 is
Norfolk, VA 23529, USA.
reshaping the future of education, which opens up our vision and makes us to
Email: [email protected]
consider what knowledge and skills students should possess after they have
graduated from college, when to accelerate workforce reskilling and what is
the building blocks and connections of education supply chain. In this study, it
is the first time the concept of ‘education supply chain’ is proposed and coined.
Furthermore, our research has led us to view educational systems and
configurations, such as international mobility and transnationalization, as
outcomes of enduring power related to industrial revolutions. Finally, a curric-
ulum structure based on system thinking is proposed. We engage our inquiry
with transformations that are happening around higher education and position
our research on the benefits of sharing of global intellectual resource and top
talents through transnational mobility and education joint ventures in the
context of Industry 4.0.

KEYWORDS
digital library, education, education supply chain, industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, liberal arts
education, social mobility, systems thinking, talent supply chain

1 | INTRODUCTION Najam, 2018) and among thousands researchers who

published their papers on Industry 4.0 in the past 5 years.
In 2013, the German government and a group of These initiatives have opened up our vision and made us
government consultants proposed 10 primary projects as to ponder how Industry 4.0 will shape the future of
pillars of Germany's High-Tech Strategy 2020 Action education, what knowledge and skills students should
Plan. Among them, the Industry 4.0 plan was identified possess after they have graduated from college, when to
as the most promising endeavour for Germany to estab- accelerate workforce reskilling and what is the building
lish itself as a leader of digital integrated industrial sup- blocks and connections of education supply chain. A full
ply chain (Xu, Xu, & Li, 2018). Soon after the exposition of education supply chain in the era of Indus-
announcement of Industry 4.0 plan, the concept of digiti- try 4.0 has been unfolded.
zation of manufacturing, which has been viewed as a rep- In this study, it is the first time the concept of ‘educa-
resentation of the fourth industry revolution was widely tion supply chain’ is proposed and coined. We hope this
discussed at venues such as the World Economic Forum concept will enrich the literature on the relationship
at Davos in 2019, at forums on advancing education between higher education and industry 4.0 and contrib-
curriculum within education leaders (Gleason, 2018b; ute to the paradigm shifting resulted from implementing

Syst Res Behav Sci. 2020;37:579–592. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/sres © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 579
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Industry 4.0. Like a supply chain which is a network enrollments in underrepresented groups, which accounts
between a company and its suppliers to produce and for 38% of US college enrollments (Penprase, 2018).
distribute a specific product from a point of origin to the While many educational organizations and individ-
point of consumption, an education supply chain repre- uals might still be wondering about how Industry 4.0
sents the networks and steps of interconnected skill could impact our education system and course delivery
acquisition, knowledge transfer and stakeholders that approaches in the era of Industry 4.0, some are
engage in educating and training people from the begin- implementing changes today and preparing for a future,
ning of one's life to becoming a contributor to the well- when smart factories, artificial intelligence (AI), cyber-
being of the society and economic development of the physical systems can connect their business globally via
nation. University and society invest in education supply cloud computing. In this study, we focus our discussion
chains, so they can train talents and future workforce to on higher education. The following sections cover several
remain competitive in the global business landscape. key elements that contribute to the education supply
As depicted in Figure 1, education supply chain is a chain concept. They include industrial revolutions and
process that includes different activities, people, entities, higher education, social mobility versus social class and
information and resources. The current version of educa- building things versus building people. Finally, sugges-
tion supply chain that is proposed in this study encom- tion for advancing education supply chain curriculum in
passes all activities in educating people and enabling the era of Industry 4.0 is outlined.
them to fulfil their lifelong dream and contribute to the
mankind. These activities are related to the flow and
transformation of education from the infant and 2 | INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS
preschool stage to the full career milestone, as well as the AND HIG HER EDUCATION
associated flows for intellectual resource, financial
resources, natural resources, physical resource and ser- The mankind has experienced and benefited from three
vice. There are roughly five stages in an education supply industrial revolutions and now is on the way to imple-
chain: the infant and preschool stage, the K-12 (elemen- ment a new one which is called Industry 4.0. Up till
tary and middle school) stage, the college/university today, there may still be short of a unanimous consensus
stage, the graduate school stage and lifelong learning. of equating Industry 4.0 to the fourth industrial
The interrelationship in an education supply chain is revolution. Some authors argue that we are still in the
connected by social and business activities. third industry revolution (Rifkin, 2011). Industry 4.0 is a
Human society has experienced agriculture transition significant transformation to the digitization of
to industrial revolution and to digital revolution. An manufacturing and creating a cyber-physical system. This
intensified commitment to large-scale higher education transition is so compelling that it is inevitable to have a
across the world has resulted in increasing rates of partic- significant impact on higher education which trains
ipation in higher education. For example, in the United talents, spearheads scientific innovation, disseminates
States, the fraction of the population with some access to knowledge and educates the future workforce.
higher education has risen from 4% in 1900 to nearly 70% In this study, we have used information and data
in 2000. The increasing diversity within student from several world's largest economies to illustrate our
populations is also remarkable, with a 30% rise in discussion on the interrelationship between industrial

F I G U R E 1 Interactions in an
education supply chain [Colour figure
can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.
com]
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TABLE 1 Universities and industrial revolution

Impact of industrial revolution on

Year/time Establishment of university university
12th century University first established in Italy and
France
1636 Harvard University was founded The first industrial revolution, around
1760–1820. Primary technologies: coal
energy and steam engine, steam
printing, manufacturing factory, and
trains and railroads
1693 The College of William and Mary was
founded
1825 The University of Virginia was founded
1862 Land grant universities were The second industrial revolution started
established in the late 19th century. Primary
technologies: civil and electrical
engineering, natural gas and oil, and
automobiles and highways
1900–1944 College Entrance Examination Board
was formed
Post-1944
1944 GI Bill
1947 Community colleges opened
1972 The Basic Educational Opportunities The third industrial revolution started
Grants (BEOG) program in the 70s of the 20th century
Primary technologies: digital
technology, renewable energy, and
large vessels and container boxes
The 21st century
Post-2000 Connection between a college degree The fourth industrial revolution or
and employment Industry 4.0 unfold over the 21st
century; digital transformation

revolutions and the evolution of higher education. The 12th century. The goal of the earliest higher education
evolvement of US public and private universities and institutions was to teach theology and train clergyman.1
industrial revolutions are moving forward hand in hand. Following the European model, Harvard University
Education and learning, knowledge creation, innovation was the first college founded in the United States in 1636
and globalization are our vision and goals in the past (Thelin, 2019). To a large degree in the early days, Har-
250 years since the introduction of the first industrial rev- vard education focused on theology. It took more than
olution. Table 1 provides a chronical presentation of the 55 years for the second university to be established in the
establishment of university and the impact of industrial United States; in 1693, the College of William and Mary
revolutions on university and in return, the contributions was founded. It was an Anglican institution and required
of universities made to industrial revolution. The United students to be members of the Church of England.
States is known for being the home of the world's best
universities and an incubator for training entrepreneurs
in the second and third industrial revolutions. The 2.1 | The first industrial revolution
progressive history of US universities shows that our
effort is to ensure access to higher education, encourage The first industrial revolution which was recorded in the
social mobility that unlocks barriers to move upward, period from about 1760 to 1820 was the transition to new
create knowledge, contribute to the economic develop-
ment and train responsible citizens. The earliest universi- 1
Encyclopedia Britannic, https://www.britannica.com/topic/university.
ties were established in Italy and France at the end of the Accessed May 10, 2020.
582 LI

manufacturing processes in Europe and the United provided grants of land to finance the establishment of
States. The three noticeable key new innovations in the colleges and universities specializing in agriculture and
first industrial revolution were (1) new sources of energy mechanic arts, which were core technologies in the first
that powers economic activity; (2) new logistics and industrial revolution. So ‘A&M’ colleges were founded.
transportation modes that efficiently move economic The curriculum of college education responded to the
activities; and (3) new communication technologies that needs of the first industrial revolution. Liberal arts,
efficiently manage communication of economic, social library science, architecture, anthropology and so forth
and political activities (Rifkin, 2011). During the first were new majors at the time.
industrial revolution, coal was a new energy. It was used
to power steam engine, and the engine was put on train,
which as a new transportation mode helped open up the 2.2 | The second industrial revolution
world markets. Steam-printed papers were invented and
speeded up our ability to communicate with people The second industrial revolution witnessed the unprece-
around world. When new energy, new transportation dented scale of production and assembly lines. We extend
modes and new communication technologies get together the concept of three key technologies here, (1) natural
to move our economy forward, the world and our society gas and oil are the new source of energy; (2) passenger
had been transformed. The existing paradigm has been cars and highways are the new logistics and transporta-
shifted (Li, 2018). tion modes; and (3) telephone and telegram are the new
The use of steam power kindled the invention of the communication technologies. Henry Ford leveraged
industrial cylinder press in the early 1800s. It allowed all assembly line technology, which was invented with the
types of written texts, Gothic tales, intellectual periodi- intensive use of electrical power to produce a large vol-
cals, domestic magazines and drawings to be printed ume of standardized products with division of labor and
quickly and cheaply (Taunton, 2010). Books and newspa- specialized skills at a low unit cost. University educated a
pers were mass produced and distributed. This new com- large portion of middle-class income families who were
munication technology is a big leap forward to provide able to work on well-paid manufacturing jobs and could
one of the most important resources to the university, afford the products that came out of the assembly line.
which is the book. Steam printing has made books and Economic prosperity was created (Li, 2018).
texts affordable and accessible. The industrial printing Once again, universities responded to the needs of
press was one of the most influential inventions of the economic development resulted from the second indus-
industrial revolution. It enabled innovations to be spread trial revolution. Programs such as mechanical engineer-
beyond the boundary of regions and countries. ing and electrical engineering were founded. These
In the 19th century, books and publications reached majors are the drivers of manufacturing industry. Large
broader audiences than ever before, across the social quantity of manufactured goods needed to be distributed.
scale and beyond the limit of national borders via train, At the same time, large quantity of raw materials from
railways and new roads. In 1825, the University of Vir- different parts of the world needed to be purchased.
ginia opened. This is one of the first measures to intro- Many universities added business education to their
duce social mobility. The third president of the United offerings and established business schools.
States, Thomas Jefferson, tackled the issue of education. The period between the two world wars is 1920–1944.
He wanted to move higher education away from the reli- During this time, university played a proactive role in the
gious ties and advocated to have higher education be paid education supply chain. College attendance increased
for by the general public so that students who were less fivefolds, from 250,000 to 1.3 million (Thelin, 2019).
wealthy could have access to higher education. Though more young Americans went to college during
In the 19th century, although commerce is becoming this period, college degrees were not primary require-
an increasingly large part of the American economy, ment to the job market. Most occupations were not con-
there are only a handful of business-specific courses nected to academic credentials. World War II
offered by the US colleges. At this point, business profes- dramatically changed the landscape of higher education
sions were only got on-the-job training. People took a in America. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944,
short course in bookkeeping or business correspondence which is known as the GI Bill of Rights, was passed. The
and then went to work. Today, business is the largest 1944 GI Bill2 provided financial assistance to veterans to
field of study in college, it is estimated that about 20% of receive higher education. By 1950, over two million vets
all degrees awarded are in business fields.
In 1862, The Land-Grant Act was signed into law by
2
President Abraham Lincoln in the United States. This act https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/history.asp. Accessed May 10, 2020.
LI 583

benefitted from the program. The college enrollment characterized by the fusion of cyber-physical systems, the
zoomed up. Internet, the Internet of Things, industrial integration
Community colleges were officially recognized in (Xu, Cai, Zhao, & Ge, 2016), industrial information
1947, when President's Commission on Higher Education integration (Xu, 2016; Xu, 2020) as well as the growing
(also known as the Truman Commission) suggested the utilization of AI, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing,
name ‘community college’ be applied to the institution data science and advanced wireless technologies
designed to serve chiefly local community educational (Xu et al., 2018). It has ushered in a new era of economic
needs (Community Colleges, 2020). Community colleges development. Many professors, scientists, educators and
are usually within the commuting distance of students university administrators have noted the impact of the
and have been established to meet the increasing demand new technologies on the global economy and advocated
for higher education among the World War II generation the role that university should play on providing measur-
and their families. Community colleges add a link to the able roles on innovation, productivity and social
education supply chain. To make college more accessible well-being.
to low income students. The Pell Grant was established
in 1965 for students who need financial resource to pay
for college. 3 | SOCIAL MOBILITY VERSUS
SOCIAL CLASS

2.3 | The third industrial revolution According to Encyclopedia Britannica, social mobility
involves movement of individuals, families or groups
In the second half of the 20th century, computer technol- through a system of social hierarchy or stratification. If
ogy, information technology and the widespread digitali- such mobility involves a change in position, especially in
zation accelerated the speed of the digital revolution occupation, but no change in social class, it is called ‘hor-
which is recognized as the third industrial revolution. izontal mobility.’ … If, however, the move involves a
The new digital technology removed the gap of time change in social class, it is called ‘vertical mobility’ and
zones and enable businesses to communicate via email or involves either ‘upward mobility’ or ‘downward mobil-
fax 24 h a day and 7 days a week. Meanwhile, in the mid ity’.3 Social mobility and intellectual capital transmission
of 1950s, large container box was invented to distribute play an important role for the chances of social success in
products in a standardized package at a very low shipping both Western and Eastern societies.
rate. This new shipping mode is then connected to high- After the first three industrial revolutions, the new
ways and railways. Many containers are taken from ships curricula and the proliferation of 2-year colleges, univer-
and placed on the back of trains and trucks to be distrib- sities and higher educational institutions enabled the
uted. Globalization is prompted. technical and managerial capacity to support the massive
Information technology and the Internet became a expansion of the economy and manufacturing. Education
new communication technology. New logistics modes, as a supply chain has provided the society with intellec-
such as automated transportation tools, container boxes tual capital, educated labor force, insightful managers
and meg vessels that can carry 20,000 TEU boxes in one and visionary leaders. US higher education has advanced
trip, were invented. Green energy, such as solar energy, through the industrial revolutions. These improvements
is a new form of renewable power. These inventions are included a commitment to broader representation within
the drivers of today's global supply chain. higher education to ensure that education supply chain
Paired with the global supply chain is the flourish of works side by side with industrial revolutions to provide
education supply chain. Computer science and computer intellectual resources needed by the society and eco-
engineering majors were created at universities. In the last nomic development.
quarter of the 20th century, many business schools added Soon after the first industrial revolution, women were
supply chain programs. Once again, universities adjusted admitted to universities to study the subjects such as law
their curriculum to train talents and conduct research to and medicine along with their male counterparts. It took
be active participants of the third industrial revolution. more than a century before women rose to account for
half of the enrollment at college in the United States. In
the early 20th century, there were serious limitations in
2.4 | The fourth industrial revolution women's educational opportunities and career prospects.

The fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 was 3

Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-
unfolded over the 21st century. This new venture was mobility. Accessed May 10, 2020.
584 LI

Harvard Law School did not accept women till 1950 and Prior to the Civil War in the United States, blacks
graduated the first cohort of female students as part of were generally denied admission to traditionally white
the class of 1953 (Fleischer, 1953). Sandra O'Connor, the higher education institutions (Thelin, 2019). As a result,
first woman in the US history to serve on the Supreme historical black colleges and universities became the
Court, was unable to find employment in a law firm after dominant means for providing postsecondary education
she graduated from Stanford University Law School in to African American young men and women. The Civil
1952. In the early 20th century, the Department of Archi- Rights Act of 1964 provided a mechanism for ensuring
tecture at University of Pennsylvania did not accept equal opportunity for African American students to
women students at all. Phyllis Whei-Yin Lin, the first study in an integrated educational environment.
female modern architect in China, was not admitted Students who are from a wide range of cultural and
to the Department of Architecture at University of socioeconomic backgrounds are able to find their
Pennsylvania because she was a woman. Later, she exposure to a broader range of individuals and their
studied at the School of Fine Arts at University of cultures particularly valuable (US Department of
Pennsylvania. After she went back to China, Ms. Lin Education, 1991). Social class has been purged and social
helped to establish the Architectural Department of mobility has been promoted.
Northeastern University in Shenyang, designed a railroad Given the changes made by globalization, more and
station in Jilin and was the lead designer of the National more students are pursuing their studies abroad. Interna-
Emblem of the People's Republic of China, as well as the tional students become a critical component of the educa-
monument to the people's heroes in Tiananmen Square tion supply chain. These students bring with them their
(Slotnik, 2018). She lived and studied in China and life experiences, culture, learning styles and history. Since
abroad and grew up to be an open-minded intellectual the beginning of 21st century, with the rapid develop-
when much of Chinese society was constrained by ment of global economy and fast increase of family
traditions. The life experience of the first female Supreme income, international students have more choices when
Court justice in the United States and the first female they plan to study abroad. Consequently, the mobility
modern architect in China represent the mobility of pattern of international student's flow changes notice-
women and their role in the society. Now, education is ably. United States has been the top destination of
within reach for more women than ever. international students owning to its high-quality higher
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed GI Bill education programs (Adnett, 2010; Zong &
in 1944, he sparked a national revolution in the idea of Batalova, 2018). Based on the data from the Institute of
university. The significance of GI Bill is to ensure access International Education (IIE), Figure 2 provides the
to higher education and to pave the way for veterans to enrollment numbers and trends of international students
resuming a normal life after they returned from World from 1999 to 2019.
War II (McGuire, 2020). The federal government funded Between 1999 and 2005, the number of international
the college aspirations of millions of Americans and students increased, but the trend remained stable. In the
unlock the barriers for those young men and women to period of 2005 to 2017, US universities greatly increased
realize their American Dream. Instead of viewing college their enrollment of international students to get financial
education as an avenue to be upstaged to the leisure benefit to support many university activities. In academic
class, higher education came to be recognized as an year 2016–2017, there were more than 1.2 million
essential driver of economic development for both the international students studied in the United States.
nation and individuals. After 2017, international student enrollment started
According to the college board, a Pell Grant is money to decrease due to unstable political environment
the government provides for students who need it to pay (Figure 2).
for college. Grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. Many international students have had their first
Eligible students receive a specified amount each year college degree and some even have had their master's
under this program. About one-third of undergraduate degree in their home and native countries. The US
students in the U.S. received a Pell Grant in 2015–2016. universities and other developed countries are able to
The amount of the grant depends on a student's financial attract and capitalize intellectual recourses from other
need and other factors, including the amount of time he countries and reap the cream and benefits of other coun-
or she attends college.4 tries' investment in K-12 education to advance their
research and development agenda and speed up their
innovation of new technology. The ‘take and adapt’
4
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/grants-and- strategy in global education supply chain has contributed
scholarships/what-is-a-pell-grant. Accessed May 10, 2020 to the advancement of industrial revolutions. About 23%
LI 585

F I G U R E 2 International students in US
universities5 [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

(21 of 91 companies) of US billion-dollar startup compa- economic and financial benefits, students with interna-
nies had a founder who was once an international tional education experience have helped developing
student in the United States (Anderson, 2018). Combin- countries to improve the quality of their educational
ing the knowledge that they acquired at their native system.
countries with higher education they received in the One of the largest ripples from the third industrial
United States, international students translated their revolution was the move towards online education.
innovative ideas to launch startup companies and have During 2012 as massive online open courses were
created an average of more than 1,400 jobs per company. expected to completely displace traditional in-person
The collected value of $96 billion of these startups equals higher education and expand access to university
to the market capitalization of the companies listed on education to millions of previously unserved students
the stock markets of Portugal. across the world. Online and tech-enhanced teaching
A recent report published by the Association of Inter- within universities has enabled both research universi-
national Educators (NAFSA, 2019) shows that the inter- ties and liberal arts colleges to more efficiently teach
national students studying at US-based educational students with diverse backgrounds and to open up
institutions have contributed about $41 billion to the US their campuses to a more global community of both
economy and have helped to create more than 450,000 faculty and students (Morris & Naughton, 1999; Tan
jobs. Canada, another big destination of international et al., 2014). COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the
students, is benefiting in a similar way. According to the rate of moving teaching online and perfect the virtual
figures presented in the report of Canada's international teaching skills.
education strategy, Canada's GDP in 2018 benefited near Leveraging the power of education supply chain, the
$21.6 billion from international students, and they have United States has been able to capitalize its diversity of
also supported about 170,000 jobs (International Educa- people, regions and economics, in part due to the
tion Canada, 2019). pragmatic and adaptive nature of its educational system.
In addition to contributing to the economic advance- The world and education supply chain have benefitted
ment of developed countries, these international students from the avenue of social mobility and intellectual capital
have played an important role in the economic, social, transmission.
cultural and political development of their home and
host countries. For instance, after studying a sample of
150 international students in a Malaysian university, 4 | BUILDING THINGS VERSUS
Hassan, Othman, Sabudin, Mohaideen and Hidthir (2018) BUILDING PEO P LE
concluded that international students have contributed
to the local industries such as clothing and footwear, food Universities have remained steadfastly committed to
and beverage and telecommunication. In addition to inventing educational programs, developing innovative
curricula and creating higher education institutions that
dedicated to the needs and expectations of the society,
5
Data source: Institute of International Education (IIE), ‘International
Student Enrollment Trends, 1999/2000–2018/2019,’ ‘Open Doors: Report
people and economic development. College graduates
on International Educational exchange’ (Washington, DC: IIE, 2019). have devoted their talents to the entrepreneurship and
Accessed May 10, 2020 new product development.
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Hewlett and Packard (HP) was founded in 1939 by A. Michelson, a Polish-born American, studied at Univer-
two Stanford University engineering graduates, William sity of Berlin, and the founding chair of the Department
Hewlett and David Packard. HP was one of first technol- of Physics at the University of Chicago, became the first
ogy companies who pioneered the strong relationship American Nobel laureate in any of the sciences. He was
between university and industry. The company produces recognized for his breakthrough development in measur-
digital equipment. Throughout World War II, HP ing the speed of light.
worked with the Naval Research Laboratory to build Universities are a key component of education
counter-radar technology and advanced artillery shell supply chain, which can influence the direction of a
fuses.6 In 1972, using advanced integrated-circuit tech- country. Numerous China's top leaders have been edu-
nology, Hewlett-Packard unveiled the first pocket-sized cated in the Western countries. For example, Deng
calculator, which digitalized accounting process and Xiaoping, the architect of China's economic reform in
retail sales. 1978, spent 6 years in France, and Zhou Enlai, the first
Dr An Wang, a computer scientist, inventor and prime minister of the People's Republic of China (PRC),
entrepreneur, who earned his bachelor's degree in com- also spent years in France, going to college. Zhu De,
munication engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong who studied in a German military school between 1922
University (known as the MIT in China) and PhD in and 1926, was the first commander-in-chief of the Chi-
engineering and applied physics from Harvard nese People's Liberation Army. Jiang Zeming, the former
established Wang Laboratories in 1951, that dedicated to president of China (PRC), studied in former Soviet
building word processing machines. As an important Union. Integrating the concepts of Marxism and Lenin-
contributor to the development of magnetic core ism, market economy and planned economy that they
memory, An Wang is a pioneer of office automation learned from Western countries with the philosophy,
(Lee, 1995). There are more international students who culture and history of China, they crafted the blueprint
are innovators and entrepreneurs in the United States. for China to navigate in an uncharted passage, which is
eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar, a French-born named as ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’.
Iranian-American in 1995 and one of the founders of China's success of economic reform over the past
PayPal, ‘Max’ Levchyn, is a Ukrainian born American. 40 years has been a constant process of learning from
The impact of education supply chain is enormous, and the West and people who have different heritages. It is a
innovations created by these people have changed our vivid case study that demonstrates the power of a global
way of life and shifted the existing paradigm. education supply chain.
The transition from building things to educating peo- To build people, education has to be rooted in edu-
ple took place in the late 19th century. Recognizing the cators, students, business and society to achieve a com-
importance of educating people who are the primary mon goal that is to create the next generation of
supply of intellectual capital to the society and economic knowledge workforce and great leaders. The Association
development, John D. Rockefeller Sr., after making a to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB),8 a
fortune through the lucrative oil business, founded the global non-profit association, provides quality assur-
University of Chicago in 1890, which was committed to ance, business education intelligence and learning and
open, rigorous and intense inquiry. William Rainey development services to over 1,700 member organiza-
Harper, the University's first president, envisioned the tions. In May 2020, there are 874 business colleges and
University as a modern research university that would institutions in 56 countries and territories that have
combine an English-style undergraduate college and a earned AACSB accreditation. Accredited programs are
German-style graduate research institute. The University from countries such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia,
of Chicago7 has drawn the most original learning agenda Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, the United
that enables faculty and students to work together in an States, United Arab Emirates, to name a few. As part of
interactive and genuinely multidisciplinary atmosphere. education supply chain, AACSB connects, shares and
Students are empowered by their education and have inspires innovation and quality throughout the member
become leaders and distinguished contributors in virtu- network around the world, as well as the business
ally every area of endeavour and won the higher interna- community. The collective strength of the organization
tional honours in their fields. In 1907, Professor Albert is founded in diverse perspectives, a global mindset and
a commitment to educating people and making a
6 difference.
Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hewlett-
Packard-Company. Accessed May 10, 2020.
7 8
The University of Chicago https://www.uchicago.edu/. Accredited May AACSB, https://www.aacsb.edu/about/who-we-are. Accredited May
10, 2020. 10, 2020.
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5 | A SYSTEM DRIVEN the gap, this study employs systems theory and thinking
CURRIC ULUM FOR EDUC ATION in analysing issues related to higher education. We recog-
SUPPLY CHAIN nize that higher education institutions have the responsi-
bility to improve and expand the education supply chain
We are in an era of Industry 4.0. Rapid advances in to train the next generation of world leaders and work-
industrialization and digitalization have spurred tremen- force. The society and the world rely on the power of our
dous progress in developing the next generation of ideas and the openness of our environment to develop,
manufacturing technology, including cyber-physical sys- test and realize these ideas. When university, government
tems, Internet of Things, 3D printing, AI and machine and business organizations become members of the edu-
learning. Earlier industrial revolutions have prioritized cation alliance, they are part of a movement united to
raw materials such as coal needed to fuel factories, oil improve the quality of education around the world. At
that needed to power automobiles and new transporta- the centre of this movement is a vision of new education
tion modes such as train to connect cities. All these programs, innovative diverse degree options and a variety
efforts have placed a premium on physical resources. The of non-degree offerings.
Industry 4.0 places a premium on human capital and A system driven curriculum in the era of Industry 4.0
intellectual resource for innovation. Equipped with is at the heart of human capital development and lifelong
digital technology, students are able to learn in their learning (Figure 3). The system concept that consists of
home countries with diverse colleagues from different technology, people and organization motivates the crea-
parts of the world and develop solutions together in tion of innovative curriculum. Diverse degree and non-
teams to solve problems. Unlike the previous three indus- degree options will provide avenues for citizens of the
trial revolutions which experienced industrial transfor- world to be lifelong learners. The building blocks of the
mation, this time, it is digital transformation. Higher innovative curricula are delineated below.
education around world is undergoing transition. The
need for higher education to respond to the paradigm • People. Faculty, students, administrators and other
shifting for both positive social impacts and overwhelm- stakeholders are the human resource that participated
ing environmental challenge is urgent (Xing, Marwala, & in the education process to create and validate knowl-
Marwala, 2018; Gleason, 2018b). edge, store knowledge and information and impart
To date, there is a very limited literature on the use of knowledge to students and learners.
systems ideas and methodologies as a basis for design of • Liberal Arts Education. Universities started from liberal
curriculum or courses (Banathy, 1999; Ison, 1999). To fill arts programs. Liberal arts education cultivates a

F I G U R E 3 Curricula in the era of

Industry 4.0 [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
588 LI

person. In Latin, the word ‘arts’ refers to both the arts and states to infuse technology into education and pro-
and sciences. In the Middle Ages, liberal arts consisted vides tools and resources to facilitate that effort.10 The
of seven subjects: grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, 21st century workforce is committed to the 21st cen-
arithmetic, music and astronomy.9 Today, a liberal arts tury technologies and skills. Digital transformation has
education spans the arts, humanities, social and natu- launched a global competitiveness pace which has ini-
ral sciences (Gleason, 2018b; Lewis, 2018). Historically, tiated an instructional paradigm shift for learning and
universities existed as institutions for knowledge crea- teaching. World Economic Forum (2016) projected
tion and dissemination and serve as homes to most according to a popular expectation that 65% of children
basic sciences, academic journals, books and databases who entering primary school today will ultimately end
that communicate knowledge worldwide. Today, up working in completely new job types that have not
college education has been connected to job entry and been created. Improving and promoting a diverse
career advancement. The nature of our workforce is curriculum is one of the primary goals of the STEM
changing. Young people need to be prepared for a program that provides skills, knowledge and attitudes
variety of roles in a future that will be transformed by needed for an entrepreneurial culture (Idin, 2018).
automation and digitalization. Grounded in strong Lib- • Digital Library and Digital Resource. Library is the
eral Arts Education students will be able to switch reservoir of knowledge. After the first industrial revo-
from their first job to the second and jobs that yet to be lution, the world saw a massive expansion of the
created in the Industry 4.0 Era. printed word. This expansion can be attributed to two
• Professional Education. Since Liberal Arts Education is key factors: supply and demand. The first factor is
the foundation of human society, what is the role of technological development that increased the supply of
professional schools such as business school, medical printing capacity paired with the new distribution net-
school and law school? The role of professional schools work enabled by improved roads. The second factor is
is to equip our students with the skills and techniques the creation of many educational institutions and other
that they can use to contribute to the economic devel- social needs that increased the demand for printed
opment of the region, the nation and the world. While material of various kinds. During the third industrial
Industry 4.0 is progressing, we do not have a complete revolution, digital library and digital resources became
picture until we look back in 10 to 20 years from now. available. Digital libraries and digital resources, such
Companies which are adopting digital technologies to as Google.com and Google Scholar, have played a
realize Industry 4.0 are coping with how to upskill noticeable role in providing professors, students and
their current workforce and where to recruit new learners with data, information and knowledge via a
employees with the right skill sets. Diverse degree pro- variety of media. Digital library and resource provide
grams and non-degree certificates, seminars and short timely, high volume and high variety of information
training courses can prepare our workforce to take on and is handy and accessible. Users can reach the digi-
new job responsibilities made possible by Internet 4.0. tal resources at school, from home or even during their
• STEM program. Industry 4.0 carries with it a digital trips at the airport. Digital libraries and resources can
transformation and abundant opportunities for Sci- be shared within a consortium and offer more informa-
ence, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) pro- tion than an individual university is able to acquire
grams. As business and government organizations seek and maintain. The promise is to support diverse degree
digital transformation, we need to understand that programs and non-degree projects through broader,
digital transformation cannot happen in a vacuum nor faster and better information and communication ser-
does it conclude merely with implementing new tech- vices (Marchionini & Maurer, 2019).
nologies and hope that machines will operate by them- • Experiential learning. To support the vision of innova-
selves. Substantial changes to the STEM curriculum tive curriculum in the Era of Industry 4.0, experiential
will be required to allow students to develop capacity education serves as an integral part of the curriculum.
in the rapidly emerging areas of data science, big data Despite full-time placements already being in place in
analytics, AI, machine learning, robotics, cloud many universities and colleges, it was essential for the
computing, data management and even nanomaterials. universities to establish a student-centric effort to pro-
The US National Education Association (NEA), a vide hands-on and industry-oriented learning experi-
founding member of the Partnership for 21st Century, ence. After students have acquired and created new
is a viable advocator who encourages schools, districts knowledge, they need to apply it to real-world

9 10
Liberal Arts Education, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_ National Education Association http://www.nea.org/home/34888.
education#cite_note-1. Accessed May 10, 2020. htm. Accessed May 10, 2020.
LI 589

scenarios. Internships are important opportunities to between research led universities. It is the only one
experience the real world of the workplace while where all undergraduate students receive a UK and Chi-
gaining knowledge and skills through the application nese degree (dual award) from the Chinese Ministry of
of theories to practical problems. By working in their Education and from the University of Liverpool
chosen field before graduation, students clarify career (Educations.com, 2020). XJTLU combines the best of east
goals, gain résumé-building experience and become and west to offer its students a unique educational experi-
stronger candidates for full-time jobs and graduate ence that prepares them to be a future leader. XJTLU has
schools. a diverse and talented team of over 400 academic staff,
with 50 nationalities. All degree programs are taught in
The shift towards more experiential learning and English, with a focus on critical thinking and indepen-
business engagement will mean that higher education dent learning.11 The school is located in Suzhou Indus-
may be seen increasingly as learning laboratories rather trial Park, an incubator of global innovation, which
than as the traditional classroom learning environment. provides numerous internship opportunities for students.
Their doors may become revolving, with models helping XJTLU graduates' ambitions and aspirations take them
their alumni successfully respond to the business, all over the world into jobs and further study. Playing a
leadership and ethical challenges that emerge over a role of global education supply chain, XJTLU placed 97%
career life cycle. of its first cohort of students in masters or doctorate pro-
grams overseas, among them, 10% was admitted to uni-
• Education Joint Venture and Transnational Collabora- versities that were ranked in the world's top 10 (based on
tion. Higher education curricula offered in the era of the University Ranking Chart by The Times, 2010). By
Industry 4.0 focus on developing learners' high value- January 2011, XJTLU headed the list of Top 10 Sino-
adding skills. An insightful narrative is found in the Foreign Cooperative Universities in China.
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Education On 25 September 2016, Jo Johnson, the United
Strategy Action Plan, which advocates multilateral Kingdom's Minister of State for Universities and Science
cross-border collaboration and education supply chain visited Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou,
joint ventures between universities within the region Mr. Johnson recognized that XJTLU's performance is an
and the world to deliver knowledge and skills required extraordinary achievement and highlighted the UK's
to produce graduates who can navigate in the commitment to international engagement through trans-
uncharted passage of in the era of Industry 4.0 national education programs with China (ShanghaiDaily.
(Yang & Cheng, 2018). com, 2016). This joint venture in higher education
between United Kingdom and China aims at addressing
In 2018, Cornell University initiated a transnational the challenges in education and training citizens with
collaboration with Vietnam's largest property developer, global perspectives and equipped with the skills and
Vingroup, to establish a world-class teaching and cultural understanding that is essential in the era of
research private university, VinUniversity. This new Industry 4.0.
higher education institution will include schools of busi- Duke University from the United States and the
ness, hospitality and real estate; engineering and technol- National University of Singapore (NSU) pioneered an
ogy; general education; public health and health services; education joint venture as early as 2005 (Gleason, 2018a).
nursing; and medicine. Cornell SC Johnson College of The Duke–NUS Graduate Medical School (GMS) is a
Business not only provides faculty resources across Cor- collaboration between Duke University from the United
nell but also provides support to VinUniversity in the States and the National University of Singapore from
areas of administration, curriculum development and fac- Singapore. This academic venture is a strategic priority
ulty recruitment (Kelley, 2018). The goal of this new rather than a conventional outreach or exchange oppor-
university is to offer quality higher education in Vietnam tunity. In sharing the curriculum with Duke–NUS GMS
and educate students who will help Vietnam become a in Singapore, a variety of new distance learning technolo-
stronger competitor in Southeast Asia and on the global gies have been employed, complemented by a greater
stage. VinUniversity began recruiting faculty in spring emphasis on team-based problem-solving exercises.
2018 and enrol students in the university's inaugural class Students become actively engaged with the material and
in 2020 (Kelley, 2018). are challenged by the faculty to develop the critical-
Inaugurated in 2006, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool Univer- thinking and communication skills that are important for
sity (XJTLU) is a transnational collaboration jointly
founded by Xi'an Jiaotong University and the University 11
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/.
of Liverpool. It is the first Sino-British joint venture Accessed May 10, 2020.
590 LI

future academic careers (Williams et al., 2008). From the Non-degree options have become part of higher
Duke's perspective, this joint venture justifies Duke's education curriculum offering. Many universities have
ambition to become an active participant in the globaliza- added non-degree certificate programs to their catalogue.
tion of biomedical sciences, medical industries and For example, business schools in many countries have
healthcare. Duke's leaders have crafted strategic goals taken the lead in contributing to learning opportunities
that include exposing both faculty and learners to a for a wide variety of individuals, at different points in
greater diversity of cultures, beliefs and practices in the their career life cycles. Fostering greater educational
healthcare arena. access requires business schools to accelerate their move
As the result of industrial revolutions, transnational beyond the bounds of traditional degree-based education.
mobilities, joint venture and connectivity in higher Higher education will need to redefine themselves within
education are inevitable. With the onset of the Industry campus, community and talent management systems. As
4.0 era, these processes are likely to further accelerate, hubs of learning, universities need to partner with
intensify and expand. Traveling along the globalization universities in other countries, industry clusters and orga-
journey, students, faculty and people from all walks of nizations within the public and private sectors. This
life are able to gain a profound understanding of trends, approach helps achieve the goal of knowledge creation,
opportunities and risks in a world that is flat. innovation and community-building missions.
The ability to fully harness information from
• Diverse Degree and Non-Degree Programs. As the world connected assets and use it to drive informed decisions is
is experiencing digital transformation in the era of important to the full realization of Industry 4.0, and one
Industry 4.0, we need to understand that paradigm which many organizations may not yet fully be able to
shift cannot happen in a vacuum; rather, true digital execute in practice.
transformation has profound implications for human
being and will affect strategy, talent, innovation and
business models. A set of skills needed for the 21st 6 | CONCLUSION
century is defined by the Partnership for 21st Century
as ‘collaborating, communication, critical thinking and In tandem with the intensification of globalization and
creativity’.12 Students will be nonroutine problem industrial revolutions, higher education has undergone sig-
solvers, innovative self-developers, systems thinkers nificant expansions over the past decades. It is exciting to
and adaptable communicators. live in a time of unprecedented transformations and
unimaginable change. Higher education is in the crossroad
Today, 4-year college is a prevailing model of higher of transformation along with the rest of world
education. The Stanford2025 project offers fresh air for (Najam, 2018). While digital transformation is taking shape
degree program development. The Stanford2025 project a in nearly every organization, paradoxes can be observed
couple new options that allow students to extend their around education supply chain, curricula transformation,
education over longer timeframes. One model is the talent readiness and drivers of capital investment. Educa-
‘open loop university’ where students can experience tion organizations are largely still finding a path that bal-
6 years of higher education over their entire adult careers ances improving the existing education system with the
that provides opportunity for them to blend their learn- opportunities afforded by Industry 4.0 technologies and
ing with life experience and provide value to the campus new approaches associated with education supply chain.
by returning as expert practitioners over several intervals To date, the emphasis placed on applying systems
to recharge with new skills and knowledge. Another thinking to education remains inadequate. As Ison (1999)
option which is named as axis flip that prioritizes skill pointed out that there is a very limited literature on the
development and competency training over disciplinary use of systems ideas and methodologies as a basis for
topics. It is hypothesized that by applying these proposed designing curriculum or courses. To fill the gap, this
degree models, students would constantly renew and study has made several contributions by employing sys-
extend their knowledge and skills through their careers tems theory and thinking in analysing issues related to
(Stanford2025, 2013). Yet new student learning assess- higher education. First, we recognize and coined the
ment measures and method need to be developed to importance of education supply chain in the era of Indus-
gauge the learning outcome. try 4.0 and coin the idea in the literature the first time.
Second, our research has led us to view educational
systems and configurations, such as international mobil-
12
The Partnership for 21st Century http://www.nea.org/home/34888. ity and transnationalization, as outcomes of enduring
htm. Accessed May 10, 2020. power related to industrial revolutions. Third, social
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