European Journal of Engineering Education Vol. 33, No. 4, August 2008, 471–481 Organising industrial knowledge dissemination on frontier technology A.M. Brintrup* and D. Ranasinghe Institute for Manufacturing, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK (Received 4 January 2008; final version received 25 May 2008 ) This paper describes the challenges faced by frontier technology education, typical among large integrated EU projects. These include an evolving nature, the scarcity of experts and established material, and the need for relevant material. Classical approaches to learning seem to not adequately address the needs of frontier technology alone. Following this observation we develop a training model, where the instructional model, architectural design, and delivery mechanisms are developed according to the needs, goals, homogeneity, and distance among learners. We then use principles of constructivist methodology to address the needs of frontier technology. Throughout the paper radio frequency identification (RFID) training at the Cambridge Auto ID labs is taken as an example. The methodology leads to a successful training delivery where students have achieved the targeted success criteria. Keywords: frontier technology; RFID; constructivism theory; collaborative learning 1. Problem statement Cambridge auto-ID lab is a part of the distributed information and automation laboratory (DIAL), which is based within the institute for manufacturing at the Cambridge University engineer- ing department. The lab has been involved in the area of automated object identification since 2000 when it joined the auto ID centre project (1999–2003) that has driven numerous industry mandates in the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID is seen by many as a revolutionary enabler in automated data capture. RFID tags coupled with readers and information systems can increase visibility of operations by synchronising the physical flow of components/products and the related information flow without human intervention. In addition, RFID technology has found uses in a variety of other manufacturing-related applications in pro- duction automation and inventory management. Specific RFID research themes at the lab include: methodologies for tracking and tracing objects, Quantification of the impact of RFID introduction, and RFID integration with sensing and automation systems. Within the above research frame, the centre is involved in the development of decision support systems for sophisticated product-embedded information devices, including RFID, within the *Corresponding author. Email: ab702@eng.cam.ac.uk ISSN 0304-3797 print/ISSN 1469-5898 online © 2008 SEFI DOI: 10.1080/03043790802253566 http://www.informaworld.com