Advancing NextGen Technicians: Addressing New Industry Demand for Robotics Because of COVID-19

This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing the number of technicians in the workforce who have intermediate level training in robotics. It is designed to be directly relevant to industry's needs for the permanently re-designed manufacturing environment caused by COVID. Manufacturing comprises the largest industry sector in North Iowa and a 2020 survey of regional manufacturers confirmed the need for industrial technicians with more advanced robotics skills. This project will help to engage students with new robotics instrumentation focused on safety and efficiency and will help to keep industries in the North Iowa region, some of which have already been deeply affected by the loss of workers and useable square footage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The region and the college have a high proportion of first-generation low-income students. Thus, this project's focus on advancing robotics training for manufacturing may help many individuals with financial need move more quickly into highly skilled technician jobs.

Working closely with industry partners, Northern Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) will develop an intermediate robotics course using a broad range of robotics instrumentation including vision, cobots and mobile industrial (MIR) robots. Such robots allow manufacturers to provide adequate separation for workers, reducing congestion, and increasing efficiency. NIACC's innovative plan will embed a newly developed Level 2 National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) credential into a new intermediate robotics course to enhance middle-skilled industrial technician education. The new Applied Robotics class for Industrial Systems Technology (IST) students, and a new optional robotics certificate for Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance (IMM) students, will build on previous efforts at the institution. The proposed project will feature four key activities. First is to acquire advanced robotics equipment and develop curriculum to train technicians in robotics that are applicable to local manufacturing needs. Second is to train faculty on new robotics technology, including MIR robots and cobots with vision capabilities. Third is to train and credential all NIACC IST degree students in a newly created Applied Robotics course, using NC3 credentialing coursework embedded into the course. Fourth is to train additional IMM degree students with an optional robotics certificate add-on. The project evaluation plan includes feedback from stakeholder groups, key evaluation questions and a data collection and methods blueprint for each year of the project. Project materials and results will be shared with community college, manufacturing, and business sector peers. Information will be shared through a project website, industry publications, and ATE Central. This curricular may provide a model for other community colleges and their industry partners about how to incorporate more advanced robotics and instrumentation into manufacturing technician preparation. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. As a result, the project has the potential to contribute to improving the national STEM workforce.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.