Wed July 26, 2:15-3:00pm
Walkthrough of Cutting-Edge Jobs in Advanced Manufacturing
Speakers: Natasha Spackey, AFFOA; Conrad Leiva, CESMII; Keith Joseph, RAPID, John Balchunas, NIIMBL
Description: Did you know that there are manufacturing careers in high-end fashion, sustainable agriculture, and artificial intelligence? Did you know there will be manufacturing careers in 5-10 years that don’t yet exist today? There are clear connections between many nontechnical interests and STEAM opportunities that can help encourage students to expand their horizons and consider advanced manufacturing careers. Manufacturing USA can help educators understand the many nontraditional manufacturing careers that exist (and will soon exist) how to make the connections between students’ interests and those careers, and how students can access opportunities in and pathways to advanced manufacturing careers.
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Thu July 27, 10:30-11:15am
Digital Transformation for Accessible, Sustainable and Scalable Smart Manufacturing Education
Speakers: Sam Samanta, Coordinator of Smart Systems Technologies & Professor of Physics, FLCC, Victor, NY; Daniel Poehlein, Technical Specialist, FLCC, Victor, NY; Paul Perkins, President, Amatrol, Jeffersonville, IN; Conrad Leiva, VP Ecosystem and Workforce Education, CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute, Los Angeles, CA; Kent Powell, North American Sales Manager, Amatrol, Goshen, KY
We discuss educational resources at The Smart Manufacturing Institute (CESMII.org) and work funded by CESMII for developing hands-on learning activities for Industry 4.0, including AVR and Digital Twins. We demonstrate hands-on learning activities using a workstation developed by Amatrol with CESMII. We present case studies of required student co-ops at high-tech businesses leading to full-time jobs and a 75% completion rate in two years. Similar collaborations with regional high-tech ecosystems are critical for addressing current and emerging needs of a technical workforce needed for the digital transformation of industries accelerated by the global disruptions, caused by the pandemic and other geopolitical factors.