Welding Education Smart Technology Program

该项目将通过培养合格的焊接技术人员来满足当今先进制造业部门的需求，从而满足国家对高技能劳动力的需求。根据美国劳工统计局的数据，从2020年到2030年，对焊工的需求预计将增长8%。该项目将通过对现有的焊接技术联合科学学位课程进行重大改进来解决这一劳动力需求。改进包括在整个项目课程中整合先进技术和认证要求，使用非传统教学交付（虚拟现实和混合灵活，或HyFlex），绩效评估，教师专业发展和项目外展。这些改进预计将使成功完成项目的学生人数每年增加7%。该项目的目标是为两年制大学提供一个模型，将智能焊接技术整合到他们的证书和学位课程中，以便学生为在先进制造业领域建立成功的职业生涯做好准备。该项目将对两个现有的教学实验室进行现代化改造，以便在每个焊接间和每个机器人单元中使用智能技术。这些智能技术包括使用现场焊接过程控制和监控软件以及虚拟现实系统。这创造了一个平台，学生可以从中衡量自己的进步，并为教师提供有价值的数据分析来识别和评估学生的进步。这种评估驱动的方法有望促进标准化焊接教育实践的发展。焊接技术课程的教师将获得国家认证中心联盟提供的认证，以方便管理所需的绩效考试。获得这些认证的学生将在课程完成后准备进入劳动力市场。该项目将包括在当地初中和高中举办现场活动，使用该项目现有的焊接路演拖车。该项目还将利用与中等教育的现有协议，建立一个K-14熟练技术人员的管道，使用传统和HyFlex教学交付。夏季制造营将侧重于提供创业技能培训，以及在焊接和金属制造实验室进行基于实践项目的活动。该项目将与地区焊接公司建立合作伙伴关系，根据工业和商业团队的意见，共同设计课程和课程。这些努力旨在形成一个强大的项目，促进实践学习经验，使学生的能力与该领域的就业机会保持一致。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for a highly skilled workforce by producing qualified welding technicians that meet the needs in today’s Advanced Manufacturing Industry sectors. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the need for welders is expected to grow 8 percent from 2020 to 2030. This project will address this workforce need by incorporating significant improvements to an existing Welding Technology Associates of Science degree program. Improvements include incorporating advanced technologies and certification requirements across the program curriculum, use of nontraditional instructional deliveries (virtual reality and hybrid flexible, or HyFlex), performance assessments, faculty professional development, and program outreach. These improvements are projected to increase the number of students who successfully complete the program by 7 percent each year of the project. The goal of this project is to provide a model for two-year colleges to integrate smart welding technologies into their certificate and degree programs so students are prepared to build successful careers in advanced manufacturing sectors. The project will modernize two existing instructional labs to facilitate use of smart technologies inside each welding booth and into each robotic cell. These smart technologies involve use of live weld process control and monitoring software and virtual reality systems. This creates a platform from which students can gauge their own progress in addition to providing instructors valuable data analytics to identify and assess students’ progress. This assessment-driven approach is expected to contribute to the development of standardized welding education practices. Faculty teaching in the welding technology program will earn certifications offered by the National Coalition of Certification Centers to facilitate administering the required performance exams. Students earning these certifications will be prepared to enter the workforce upon completion of the program. This project will consist of significant outreach by hosting live events at local junior and high schools using the program’s existing welding roadshow trailer. The project will also leverage existing agreements with secondary education to build a K-14 pipeline of skilled technicians using conventional and HyFlex instructional deliveries. Summer manufacturing camps will be offered that focus on providing entrepreneurial skills training along with hands-on project-based activities in the welding and metal fabrication labs. The project will develop partnerships with area welding companies to collaboratively design course offerings and curriculum with input from an Industry and Business Team. These efforts are designed to result in a robust program that facilitates hands-on learning experiences centered on aligning student ability with employment opportunities in the field. 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.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.