While three of them have already been modified and extended, the majority is only applied once. In total, 20 design approaches are identified.

In this publication, these are identified based on a systematic literature review in a six-step-procedure.

Various design approaches have been developed and applied in recent years for learning factories in universities and companies. The following sections present the current state and concept of FSRE LF with respect to infrastructure and equipment, as well as describe the current curriculum offered to industry and students, the LF product and selection process, development and manufacturing. The paper presents different definitions and the basic concept of the learning factory, with emphasis on the information system, curriculum and product in the LF. This article presents the concept of the learning factory (LF) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Computing and Electrical Engineering (FSRE). Numerous learning factories for education, training, and research have been established in industry and academia all over Europe and the whole world. In the past few years, learning factories as close-to-industry environments for education and research have proven to be an effective concept addressing these challenges. Companies need to quickly adapt to current challenges at all levels.

Employee competencies are the key resource in today’s economy, where the production sector is one of the most important pillars. Dominant trends in manufacturing such as shorter lead times and product life cycles demand quicker transformations in the factory.

Learning factory hours