Expanding Career Pathways in Robotic Welding and Improving Regional Industrial Manufacturing Training

弗雷斯诺城市学院（FCC）将开发机器人焊接和工业制造教育与培训的新课程。将设计两个新的先进机器人焊接课程和新的证书和学位课程。该项目是对一项全面需求评估的回应，该评估确定了为焊接和工业制造领域使用的新机器人技术提供指导的重要性。新课程将成为为加利福尼亚州弗雷斯诺县和美国经济建设一支更强大、更具竞争力的劳动力队伍的典范。该项目将在FCC、行业合作伙伴、高中双招生制造班和弗雷斯诺地区劳动力发展委员会的青年制造业实习生计划之间建立原始的、潜在的变革伙伴关系。该项目将加强技术教育的基础设施，为大学教师和中学教师提供专业发展机会，并改善学生获得先进培训设施和设备的机会。通过这个项目，FCC将改善区域工业制造培训，增加熟练机器人焊工的数量。FCC的学生将为工业制造劳动力做好准备，并且具有机器人焊接基本先进技术技能的合格工人的管道将会增长。这将使区域制造商能够创新，并为制造业主导的强劲增长经济做出贡献。该项目将加强从高中到社区大学的STEM途径，并专注于招募女性和代表性不足的学生进入制造业途径。因此，该项目将产生工业机器人方面的新知识，与学生、专业人士和学术界分享。FCC是一所完全认可的加州社区学院和西班牙裔服务机构，位于加州中部最大的农业生产县之一。该学院服务于12个统一学区，服务面积超过5,743平方英里的城市和农村领土。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。

Fresno City College (FCC) will develop a new curriculum in robotic welding and industrial manufacturing education and training. Two new advanced robotic welding classes and new certificate and degree programs will be designed. The project is a response to a comprehensive needs assessment that identified the importance of providing instruction for new robotics technology being used in the fields of welding and industrial manufacturing. The new curriculum will be a model for building a stronger and more competitive workforce for Fresno County, California, and the U.S. economy. The project will develop original and potentially transformative partnerships between FCC, industry partners, high school dual enrollment manufacturing classes, and the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board's Youth Manufacturing Intern Program. The project will enhance the infrastructure of technical education, provide professional development opportunities for college faculty and secondary teachers, and improve student access to advanced training facilities and equipment. Through this project, FCC will improve regional industrial manufacturing training and increase the number of skilled robotic welders. FCC students will be prepared for the industrial manufacturing workforce, and the pipeline of qualified workers with essential, advanced technology skills in robotic welding will grow. This will enable regional manufacturers to innovate and contribute to a strong, manufacturing-led growth economy. The project will strengthen the STEM pathway from high school to community college, and focus on the recruitment of women and underrepresented students into manufacturing pathways. Thus, the project will generate new knowledge in industrial robotics to share with students, professionals, and the academic community. FCC is a fully accredited California Community College and Hispanic Serving Institution located in one of the largest agricultural producing counties in Central California. The college serves 12 unified school districts and has a service area of more than 5,743 square miles of urban and rural territory. 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.