MURFREESBORO,
Tenn. — MTSU’s Walter Boles loves all the attention the Engineering
Technology department’s mechatronics engineering program suddenly is receiving.
The
chair of one of the state’s fastest-growing programs joined Motlow College’s
Fred Rascoe for an “Inside Workforce Development” taping Tuesday (Sept. 6) at
WTVF-TV in Nashville. The show will air at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, and
Saturday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 a.m. — plus encore airings — on NewsChannel5+ on
Comcast channel 250, Charter channel 182 and digital 5.2. It also can be viewed
via www.newschannel5.com.
Boles
will participate in the seventh Tennessee Department of Education Technical
Education Cluster Collaborative Wednesday, Sept. 7. It will be held at the
Northfield Workforce Development & Conference Center in Spring Hill,
Tennessee.
Mechatronics
engineering is a multidisciplinary field of engineering with a combination of
systems in mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, control and computer
engineering.
Mechatronics
is based on a three-level international certification program created by
Siemens, a German engineering company. To date, MTSU is the only
Siemens-certified Level 3 four-year program in the world.
Regarding
the “Inside Workforce Development” TV taping, Boles said he wants to share how
“automation and robotics have grown tremendously over the past 40 years and the
growth/applications has exploded in recent years with no sign of slowing down.”
“Many
existing engineers say that they obtained a traditional engineering degree and
had to learn the basics of a different discipline on their own in order to do
their job as it evolved to include more automation,” he said. “For mechatronics
graduates, they will of course need continuous lifelong learning as technology
changes, but they will at least have the basics of the discipline(s) needed for
automation covered.”
Rascoe,
dean of Career and Technical Programs at Motlow, said the Middle Tennessee
region is seeing a growth in advanced manufacturing industries from automotive
to appliances to food manufacturing and more.
“These
companies employ the most advanced manufacturing technologies available and it
is crucial to be able to supply the industries with a well-educated and trained
workforce to meet the stringent demands today,” he added. “Training in the
mechatronic technologies is vital today. From the maintenance personnel to the
engineers, all need to understand these technologies and how to maintain, build
and design them.”
From Rascoe’s
perspective, the Motlow and MTSU programs “are addressing the needs of today
and tomorrow to prepare students for a rewarding career,” he said. “It is a
great program that serves industry and the student. It fits Middle Tennessee
and the growth of the area.”
Boles
said both schools “are fulfilling a critical need both at the AAS (associate of
applied science from Motlow) and bachelor’s degree (MTSU) levels for students,
companies and economic development efforts for the region.”
“Many
companies make facility location and relocation decisions based on the
availability of a technically educated workforce,” he added. “(The) Middle
Tennessee (region) can take advantage of the current lead we have and expand
capacity further.”
Bridgestone
Americas, Nissan North America and General Motors are among area companies
waiting to employ mechatronics graduates.
Boles
and other experts will be addressing 50 high school teachers who teach in
clusters of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), information
technology, advanced manufacturing, architecture and construction,
transportation, distribution and logistics at the Technical Education Cluster
Collaboration.
In
addition to sharing about their programs, experts are likely to field questions
about 21st century skills and more. Organizers want the teachers to
gain a clear understanding of the vision of career technical education
instruction, ways to develop strategies and learn the expectations of future
employees and how that can be shared in the classroom.
Motlow
has produced mechatronics graduates from its two-year program since 2010. A
$3.2 million federal/state grant is allowing Motlow to expand mechatronics at
satellite campuses. MTSU’s first 13 mechatronics grads earned their degrees in
December 2015. Professor Ahad Nasab coordinates the MTSU program, which has
grown to more than 250 students.
To learn
more about the MTSU mechatronics engineering program, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/programs/mechatronics/
or call Nasab at 615-898-2052.
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