Balluff makes a donation of hardware to the Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology (EMET) Program and employs multiple co-op students from Cincinnati State.
The donation was made in support of the EMET automation & process control curriculums. "Manufacturing in the US has grown and continues to grow through implementation of automation. Students who are familiar with the basic components of automation will have a competitive advantage when securing the many open manufacturing jobs of today." said Will Healy III, Strategic Marketing Manager at Balluff Inc. The donation consists of two sets of lab materials for their controls & automation lab and for their process control lab. Included were both discrete and analog outputs with a representation of sensor & accessory technologies: inductive proximity, photoelectric, ultrasonic, capacitive, pressure, linear position transducers, cables, power supplies and displays.
The EMET program combines electronics engineering technology and mechanical engineering technology and develops a skillset focused on industrial automation. This includes experience with control systems, understanding the link between software & hardware and improving machine systems. Professor Aaron Bloomfield expresses gratitude for the donation and excitedly states "with the addition of these sensors and technologies to our hands-on labs, our students will be even more familiar with how automation products work and are applied in real world applications." The EMET program at Cincinnati state provides education in a hands-on and laboratory environment teaching applicable industrials skills through doing. EMET Graduates are prepared to follow drawings, install/maintain/troubleshoot industrial equipment, wire/assemble industrial equipment and work with motors and controls. EMET Program chair Larry Feist, a graduate of Cincinnati State's Electronics Engineering Technology program, shares "Students entering the workplace with this skillset are highly sought after and we regularly have more positions available than students at the end of their two years."
Feist believes strongly in the future of industrial automation based programs like Electro-mechanical engineering technology and personally drives a number of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) based projects for K-12 students. STEM programs across the country encourage students to get an education in science, technology engineering or math, which can lead students into growth industries and high value jobs. Healy also supports this concept, "for the US to remain competitive in the global manufacturing market, we need a strong base of technical employees; K-12 STEM programs are one of the drivers of our future success." In support of educating technical employees, Cincinnati State requires a minimum of two semesters of co-operative (co-op) education for students with local businesses and companies. Anywhere from 4 to 8 co-op students work at Balluff in the Florence, KY office any given semester. With real world exposure to customers and applications, co-ops work in departments like technical support, industrial marketing, quality and engineering. This experience gave David Rinck, a 2014 Balluff co-op and Cincinnati State graduate, “many real world skills that I can apply to future experiences."
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