OCTC's AMTEC Receives NSF Award

AMTEC Institute for Industry 4.0 Innovation

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (11/11/2024) — AMTEC, a national collaborative of educational and industry partners committed to preparing highly skilled industrial maintenance and mechatronic technicians, was recently awarded a $642,949 National Science Foundation grant through the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. This new project, AMTEC Institute for Industry 4.0 Innovation (NSF Award No. 2350012), will further AMTEC's efforts to fill the skilled labor gap in advanced manufacturing by providing in-depth and ongoing professional development for 100 educators across the country.

Since 2018, AMTEC has been housed at Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC), a recipient of multiple National Science Foundation ATE grants designed to strengthen student pipelines, improve student success, and support staff development in manufacturing fields. These multiple projects have focused largely on diversifying student populations within manufacturing programs, offering competency-based educational opportunities, and fortifying partnerships with both industry and educational professionals to ensure continued relevance and transference from the classroom to the workplace. Through these projects, AMTEC has emerged as a leader in innovative training methods within manufacturing arenas, culminating this summer with the newly awarded AMTEC Institute for Industry 4.0 Innovation (AI3) project (NSF Award No. 2350012).

AI3 builds upon previous success within NSF-funded manufacturing-education programming, particularly of AMTEC's two most recent projects, Strengthening the Industry 4.0 Workforce through Virtual Reality Training Modules (NSF Award No. 2142868) and Improving Technician Training in Industry 4.0 Technologies Using Competency-Based Education (NSF Award No. 2200761). As evidenced by their titles, these two projects integrate AI, virtual reality, and competency-based education into manufacturing instruction in an effort to advance knowledge and improve student learning in Industry 4.0 technologies, in addition to attracting underrepresented populations into manufacturing education and careers.

According to Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, there is continued need for innovation and effort to equip and expand the manufacturing workforce nationwide. Their 2021 report "Creating Pathways for Tomorrow's Workforce Today - Beyond Reskilling in Manufacturing" notes that over two million manufacturing jobs will be left open through 2030, with 77% of manufacturers expecting it to be difficult to fill positions and retain talent. The National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) believes that community colleges are critical to addressing this need. NCATC Executive Director/CEO J. Craig McAtee reminds us that "for every one PhD doing research and development, there are two engineers designing the processes/plans, but there are seven technicians needed to install, troubleshoot, maintain, and improve the systems. Community colleges train TECHNICIANS!"

The difficulties addressing workforce and skills gaps are compounded by the changing landscape of manufacturing which can lead to knowledge gaps even for seasoned instructors. According to the NCATC's January 2019 "Defining Industry 4.0 for Community Colleges, Creating Connections in Manufacturing Communities with Community Colleges Initiative Capstone Report," even faculty who are more advanced in understanding and training may have difficulty keeping up with the many advances involving Industry 4.0 technologies.

Given the ongoing need for training opportunities and OCTC's unique experience and collaborative relationships in manufacturing training, AMTEC's AI3 project seeks to expand exposure of the latest Industry 4.0 technologies to secondary and postsecondary instructors in order to further the integration of these technologies into the classroom. As such, with the support of multiple partners, AMTEC will focus on three objectives in the three years of the grant: (1) Increase the knowledge of 50 secondary instructors from across the nation in Industry 4.0 concepts and related promising practices through providing professional development and follow-up community-of-practice offerings; (2) Increase the knowledge of 50 postsecondary instructors from across the nation in Industry 4.0 concepts and related promising practices through providing professional development and follow-up community-of-practice offerings; (3) Provide professional development training and follow-up activities that lead to the incorporation of Industry 4.0 concepts into the curriculum and classroom.

AMTEC's interest in supporting instructor education and training stems from ongoing concerns among educational institutions and employers regarding program funding, staff turnover, and technological advances. In a world where technology advances so rapidly, it can be extremely difficult for educational entities to adequately prepare students for the ever-evolving needs of manufacturing employers, often because instructors-who are well experienced but removed from present-day manufacturing environments-are already unaware of the latest technologies. Even for those who may be familiar with recent technological advances, having the funding available to purchase updated equipment for their classrooms in a timely manner is often next to impossible. To add to this, as new instructors are hired, there is a need to ensure they have access to instructional tools that align with current technologies and are not solely determined by what has historically been taught in the institution's programs. AMTEC's AI3 project seeks to alleviate these concerns for participants and their employing institutions by offering training and follow-up guidance on best practices and affordable resources available to assist in technician classrooms and laboratories.

To these ends, AMTEC will collaborate with partners zSpace and Multi-Skill Training Services (MST) to provide ten separate intensive hands-on training sessions (two days for each session) on Industry 4.0 technologies over the life of the grant. As primary participants in AMTEC's previous NSF-funded grant projects, zSpace and MST are uniquely qualified to assist in these efforts. zSpace, a world leader in virtual reality technology, will assist with instructor recruitment and training delivery with a focus on virtual and augmented reality tools. MST, a leader with over 30 years of direct industrial training services, will partner to provide customized equipment and related training. MST Operations Manager Brock Simmons commented, "For over 30 years, MST has been directly training industry technicians, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in their fields. We are excited to extend this expertise to educators nationwide, empowering them to bring this knowledge back to their communities and prepare the future workforce." Two sessions will be held each semester, beginning in Spring 2025 and ending in Spring 2027. A minimum of ten secondary or postsecondary faculty will participate in each training session, resulting in 100 or more instructors receiving training.

Upon completion of this professional development training, participating secondary and postsecondary instructors will be invited to receive ongoing guidance and assistance through both a private Facebook group as well as virtual monthly community-of-practice sessions to address obstacles that can prevent faculty and institutions from incorporating Industry 4.0 fundamentals into the curriculum. This guidance will ensure that all participating institutions have access to Industry 4.0 training equipment solutions, ready-to-use curriculum, and opportunities to participate in ongoing professional development in the form of webinars, newsletters, and regular meetings with a robust network of colleagues from across the nation. Michael Carbenia, Senior Executive Director of Workforce with zSpace, said of the collaborative project: "By partnering with AMTEC, we're addressing the industry's evolving demands. This project is not just about training the next generation of technicians-it's about empowering educators with the skills and technology to teach the future workforce. Our goal is to make advanced manufacturing technologies more accessible and engaging for instructors nationwide." MST's Simmons adds, "By working together, we can ensure that the next generation of technicians is ready to meet the demands of industry."

"As AMTEC continues to build pathways for Industry 4.0 education, we're eager to connect with educators who share our vision of a prepared, adaptable workforce ready to meet the demands of modern manufacturing," said Jason Simon, Director of AMTEC and Principle Investigator of the AI3 grant project. "We invite any institution or instructor interested in joining this transformative initiative to reach out. Together, we can empower educators with the tools and training needed to equip the next generation of skilled technicians."

For more information on joining this initiative with AMTEC, please contact Jason Simon at 270-686-4616 or jason.simon@kctcs.edu.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2350012. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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