Cleveland State Community College is introducing a new concept the fall of 2018—a Mechatronics Institute. CSCC will be holding three informative meeting days for local businesses and industries to come and find out more information on how they will be able to participate in this new concept. The first of the meetings will be held at the CSCC Monroe County Center on Tuesday, April 25 at 11:30 a.m. The one on the main campus will be held on Monday, May 1 at 8:30 a.m. in the George R. Johnson Cultural Heritage Center, and the one in Athens will be held at the CSCC Athens Center on Wednesday, May 3 at 8:30 a.m.
“Basically, this is a new approach to attaining an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Mechatronics Technology,” stated Marci Reiter, Cooperative Education Instructor. “This is going to be a very selective process. We will be recruiting high school seniors that are on a CTE or possibly engineering path. They will have to go through an application and interview process, write an essay and will have to have certain scores on the ACT / SAT—it is, for lack of better wording, an honor’s program in mechatronics. It will allow the ‘best of the best’ to have an edge above others coming out of high school.”
According to Reiter, these select students will not only be working in a classroom setting, but supplementing that learning with real-world training in a manufacturing setting. This program is also intended to assist local manufacturers in their search for a skilled labor force now and in the future.
“The message from manufacturing leaders could not be more clear—we need employees with the right technical and personal skills to fill our growing number of open positions,” stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC President. “The Mechatronics Institute at Cleveland State is uniquely designed to strengthen the pipeline of skilled workers. By matching the best graduates coming out of high school CTE and engineering programs with the needs of manufacturers, Cleveland State will provide the training leading to an associate degree while selected students get on-the-job training with a local company.”
Mechatronics is a blend of mechanical, electrical and computerized technologies that together form a complex system used by many manufacturing, packaging and other modern operations. Students will develop skills to work as a technician in an integrated, multidisciplinary industrial environment and will acquire the knowledge and hands-on training in electronics, mechanics and computers to work in a variety of industrial and manufacturing related businesses. Students successfully completing this program can manage, investigate, repair and troubleshoot mechatronic systems, with the aim of operational efficiency and cost and process control. The A.A.S. in Mechatronics Technology prepares students for careers in manufacturing and engineering. The students is prepared to work in many various fields such as automotive, food processing, power production, aviation manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, robotics, etc.
Dr. Seymour stated, “Imagine the opportunity to gain a college degree using Tennessee Promise while gaining excellent hands-on training in the field while earning a good wage. This is a winning combination for local schools, students, Cleveland State and hopefully, dozens of regional manufacturers.”
For more information on the Mechatronics Institute at Cleveland State, contact Reiter at (423) 614-8718.