Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology Specialization

• What is the refund policy?

• Can I just enroll in a single course?

  Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.

• Is financial aid available?

• Can I take the course for free?

• Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?

  This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.

• Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?

  This Specialization doesn't carry university credit, but some universities may choose to accept Specialization Certificates for credit. Check with your institution to learn more.

• How long does it take to complete the Specialization?

  Time to completion can vary based on your schedule, but learners can expect to complete the Specialization in 7 to 10 months.

• What background knowledge is necessary?

  There is no background knowledge, in particular, that is necessary to take this course. We recommend at least a high school education and interest in how an idea becomes a prototype, a prototype becomes a product, and a product becomes a consumable.

• Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?

  We strongly urge you begin by taking the following three courses first, in this order: Digital Manufacturing & Design, Digital Thread: Components, and Digital Thread: Implementation. The MBSE: Model-Based Systems Engineering course should be taken at the very end. Everything in between may be taken in any order desired.

• What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?

  Upon Specialization completion, you will have determined your skill levels in relation to the digital manufacturing and design industry, identified a future manufacturing career path that you are interested in pursuing, and examined the community in which you live to recognize and embark on the opportunities that exist. Additionally, you will gain the confidence to have intelligent, fact-based dialogues, either in informal or professional conversations, about:

  · How advances in technology are shaping the "factory of the future" in a new phase of industrial revolution popularly referred to as "Industry 4.0," which encompasses the Internet of Things (IoT). The fusion of technologies resulting in IoT will make our lives more exciting, intelligent, interactive and innovative than ever before!

  · Social factors like the US-China trade imbalance and accelerated technology obsolescence that are driving the need for disruptive innovation in the manufacturing world.

  · The world of the "Digital Thread," where design of a new product and its manufacturing can occur simultaneously (instead of in sequence), resulting in significantly faster product launches, superior quality and competitive prices.

  · The unimaginably large amount of data that the next generation of manufacturing will handle, and how "super computers" and "high power computing" will be able to transform it into actionable information with ease, speed and accuracy.

  · How robots are used to make rapid and reliable decisions, consequently making the production shop floor into an "Intelligent Machining" environment.

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