Mechatronics is the new name for Electro-Mechanical lecture and labs. Although the components and curriculum are nearly the same, Mechatronic training addresses technical competence, personal competence, and team competence which adds another dimension of technology integration into the classroom experience.

The technology is broken down into three elements: component training, virtual training, and Mechatronics systems training (see photo). The component element has been used for years while the virtual model was incorporated three years ago via a partnership with Festo.

Mechatronics training systems are reconfigured traditional stand alone trainer boards that configure into modular, multidisciplinary training systems by adding material handling and network communication components.

As a result, the learned material (engineering science, methodologies, tool and others) will no longer be isolated theoretical knowledge and pantomime training, but will be experienced by interacting with real hardware and by integrating this hardware to a fully operational system.
The learning style varies from student to student. Some might be very efficient in learning by only reading well-selected learning material, others might absolutely need to experiment. However, psychological investigations have shown that, in general, people remember only about 10% of the content they read, but 90% of what they try and realize.

In Mechatronics, where the individual components have to be integrated to a system, the “try and realize” approach enables students to get a deeper understanding of the interactions between the different elements of the system.