The Engineering Technology Degree: Expanding its frontiers beyond the sunshine state

FLATE-created Engineering Technology (ET) degree has struck a positive chord and gained additional ground within the engineering and technical education community. The ET degree curriculum frameworks was duplicated/modeled as part of the TechReadySC™ program in Fall 2008, and is currently being offered as part of a common curriculum by a consortium of colleges (Spartanburg Community College, Greenville, Piedmont, Tri-County and York Technical colleges) in upstate South Carolina. The new program combines elements of electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, mechanics, information technology, computers and robotics.

David Just, vice president of corporate and community education at SCC said they adopted the FLATE-created engineering technology degree model with the MSSC skill standards embedded into its curriculum framework. “We looked at your program/curriculum model, and basically duplicated that. We’re using Amatrol and ToolingU as the web-based component to deliver the MSSC program."

About TechReadySC
The TechReadySCTM program is currently offering two certificates under the program umbrella. One is a basic Mechatronics Technology I Certificate that gives current high school students and/or recent high school graduates an opportunity to enroll under a dual enrollment program. The second is an Advanced Mechatronics Technology II Certificate for incumbent workers who already have experience in a manufacturing environment.

Similarities with the ET Degree
Similar to the FLATE-created ET Degree program, students in these certificate programs can earn up to 9 credits that can be applied towards an Associate degree in mechatronics. When these certificates are coupled with other related classes, a student can receive an Associate Degree in Occupational Technology with a major in Mechatronics Technology. The entire program is made up of 70 credits. Level I comprises of a total of 31 credits; while Level II comprises of a total of 26 credits.

Another similarity between the FLATE-created ET degree and the Mechatronics program is the use of a common curriculum and use of same equipment in each of the five colleges. Students can transfer credits between all five colleges without any problems, at the same time use similar equipment so that “a student in Greenville Tech is going to have the same kind of instruction, lab experience at another college”.

In keeping with the ET degree’s emphasis on industry alignment and the embedding of the MSSC skill standards as part of the ET degree frameworks, the mechatronics program is projected to be offered under the dislocated worker programs as part of the economic stimulus program. To get the ball rolling, the consortium has established a partnership with BMW—a major manufacturer in the area—to offer training/certification of their current employees in the supply/manufacturing chain. “We have about 1900 job opportunities coming to the area and we’ve gotten all the suppliers and manufacturers to agree that if a person earns that Production Technician certification they will at least be guaranteed a job interview”. Indeed it has been a “really good selling point” and is an avenue for area manufacturers to improve the skill set of their production workers. “That’s the whole part that we saw down in FLATE and we wanted to duplicate a way of creating a feeder system into this mechatronics program” Just added.

Crunching the numbers
The program made its debut in Fall 2008 as a “General Technology” degree, and is currently in the process of being approved as a stand-alone A.A.S degree. Since its inception the program has experienced significant growth. To put the numbers into perspective, there were approximately 130 students enrolled in the old industrial maintenance program last spring. Since the transition/reformatting to the new program, that number rose to 160 students in the Fall, and to 271 this spring which is more than double within a period of one year. To that effect Just added “Once we get the MSSC certification in place at the other career centers this coming Fall, that’s going to create a better link and a better feeder system than what we have right here. I’m certain there is going to be added interest”.

For more information about the Mechatronics program at Spartanburg Community College please contact David Just at JustD@sccsc.edu/ 864.592.4805, or visit www.techreadysc.com. For information on the ET degree created by FLATE, please contact Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org/813.259.6578, or visit www.madeinflorida.org/ ET_Degree.

Made in Florida Learning Challenges: An “educational best-practices” model for middle and high school teachers

The Made in Florida Learning Challenges are state-of-the-art classroom materials that bring an innovative dimension into the classroom. These challenges provide middle and high school teachers with lesson plans, activities and assessments that are designed to enrich science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes. Each challenge provides a real-world scenario using Florida-based companies (Tropicana, Featherlite Luxury Coaches, Black Diamond Guitar Strings) to highlight the different phases (Innovate, Design, Fabricate, Test, Market, and Distribute) in the manufacturing process.

Since its implementation in 2006, the MIF challenges have been presented to over 200 teachers and educators across the nation. It has served as an “educational best-practices” model in several conferences, and generated interest among middle and high school students/educators alike.

Most recently, Jodi Sutton, FLATE curriculum coordinator made a presentation of the “Featherlite” challenge at the Florida Engineering Education Conference at the University of Central Florida. The challenge highlights the “design” phase of the production/manufacturing cycle. It underlines the importance of the “Dream it! Draw it! Build it!” mantra, and uses computer-aided design technology to design the interior layout of a luxury motor coach from start to finish. Marilyn Barger, executive director of FLATE said “Connecting the classroom learning activities directory to a local industry makes a lasting impression on students. The Featherlite Learning Challenge coupled with the “Made in Florida” tour of the same facility exemplifies the relevance of rigor and relevance in modern manufacturing operations/education.”

The presentation generated tremendous momentum/interest among educators. Following the conference, Mia Conlon, science teacher at Rock Lake Middle School in Longwood, Florida, took her students on a “Made in Florida” tour of the Featherlite Coaches manufacturing facilities. Conlon’s students also designed a brochure capturing the finer details of the blue print. “My students are very excited and enjoyed the field trip. They also enjoyed using the challenge” Conlon said.

The MIF Challenges for modern manufacturing are aligned with Florida’s Sunshine State Standards for Science, Mathematics and the curriculum framework for technology education. For more information about the challenges please contact Jodi Sutton at 813.259.6575/sutton@fl-ate.org, or visit http://www.fl-ate.org/projects/learning-challenges.html, http://flate.pbwiki.com/FrontPage.

The 3rd Annual Florida Medical Device Symposium: A Confluence of Medical Manufacturers

The Biomolecular Identification and Targeted Therapeutics (BITT) initiative is one of five centers of excellence in the state of Florida. The Center’s primary goal is to develop state-of-the-art biotechnology and biomedical technologies that support targeted therapeutics. In addition, BITT partners with FLATE to support workforce development needed to transfer BITT technologies into their manufacturing stages, increase biotechnology awareness within the public school system, and promote the establishment of a firm biotechnology market base in Florida. Since this BITT/FLATE partnership’s inception in fall 2008, FLATE has launched a series of initiatives dedicated to gauge educational and training needs of the biotech industry in Florida, and to initiate curriculum development that matches BITT’s technology workforce needs.

As part of its ongoing efforts to build and promote each of these initiatives, BITT/FLATE attended the 3rd Annual Florida Medical Device Symposium. The Symposium was held April
7-8 at the Tampa Marriott Hotel, and was hosted by the Florida Medical Manufacturers Consortium—an organization dedicated to promote the interests of medical manufacturers throughout Florida. It featured prominent keynote speakers who discussed a wide variety of topics ranging from latest developments in FDA and state regulations; product design and development; and entrepreneurship to issues related to exporting and outsourcing.

The symposium was beneficial to BITT’s mission on several counts. First, it provided an opportunity to showcase some of its programs highlighting the current needs of the biotech industry among key target audiences. Second, it introduced BITT to industry representatives from various parts of the state. Third, it provided opportunities for direct industry feedback on partnership activities that included curriculum development, recruitment/career awareness materials, and verification that the educational effort underway are aligning community college and high school programs to targeted current industry standards. Kimberly Wilson, project manager for BITT at Hillsborough Community College said “The Symposium provided excellent opportunities to network/build strategic partnerships with industry professionals and local biotech companies committed to fostering research and development of biotech products” Moreover, “It also helped raise brand recognition of BITT’s overall goals and missions”.

For more information about BITT’s applied research, or the BITT/FLATE partnership contact Kimberly Wilson at 813.253.7845/wilson@fl-ate.org.

Student Competitions: Empowering students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in a global marketplace

High-tech competitions took center-stage this spring as FLATE helped several middle and high school students participate in statewide competitions. The competitions represent FLATE’s efforts to evoke students’ interest in STEM education, and are geared to evaluate successful integration of modern technologies in solving manufacturing-related challenges.

SkillsUSA
To augment these efforts, FLATE partnered with SkillsUSA and Jaeger Corporation to coordinate two high-tech manufacturing-related competitions at the Florida SkillsUSA State Championships. These three-day competitions were held April 20-22, at Manatee Technical Institute in Bradenton, and involved over 1500 students in all career disciplines from schools across the state.

“Champions at Work - Leadership in Transition”, the theme behind this year’s competition, represented the core values of SkillsUSA’s national program. At the “Automated Manufacturing Technology” competition, teams were evaluated on their usage of computer-aided drafting/design, computer-aided manufacturing, and computer-numerical-controlled machining technologies to manufacture a prototype component. Similarly, the “Robotics and Automation Technology” competition evaluated teams on their use of modern machine control systems, operation of a 5-axis servo-robot, and sensors and motorized devices to solve a simulated production-process challenge by designing and operating a robotic work cell. Teams in both competitions were evaluated on teamwork, academic and employability skills, and the successful usage of each of these technologies to solve manufacturing-related challenges.

State competitions winners
Teams from Treasure Coast High School won first place in both contests with strong competition from Middleton High School in Tampa, and Manatee Technical Institute in Bradenton. Both winning teams are scheduled to compete at the SkillsUSA national leadership and skills conference in Kansas City from June 21-26. Jaeger Corporation, a provider of learning products and services for the K-20 educational market, provided Denford Mills and Pegasus Robots, equipment and simulation software along with technical services to support both events. Paul Beyers, employee at Sun Hydraulics in Sarasota Florida, who served as an event judge said “SkillsUSA is a great way to motivate students to work hard and learn in school, and then have a way to apply what they’ve learned. Hopefully, they can take these skills to the next level and apply them at high-tech firms in Florida.”

FLorida TSA State Conference
FLATE also helped with another effort aimed at promoting technical education on a statewide basis. At the Florida TSA State Conference, David Gula, FLATE outreach manager served as one of the judges for the System Control Technology I & II competitions. The event was held May 1 in Orlando, and involved 27 teams comprising of 60 students across the state.
During the competition, middle school participants worked in a simulated environment and designed a prototype mechanism that could regulate a household’s water usage—various various amounts on various days—based on the severity of a local drought. High school students, on the other hand, designed and built a device that would exercise the fingers of a paralyzed individual when actuated by the weight of the hand and for a variety of movement cycles. Both groups used computers, developed the software, built the models and operated them autonomously.

Besides being a high-tech endeavor, the event represented FLATE’s commitment to support FLTSA’s mission to enhance “technological literacy, leadership, and problem solving, resulting in personal growth and opportunity.” For more information on these events contact the state winners or visit www.fl-ate.org, www.skillsusa.info, www.floridatsa.com, or www.floridafirstregional.com