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1. Delahanty, C., Herring, S., Timby, T.A., & Genis, V. (2022, August), Innovative Curriculum: Collaboration Between Technician Education and Workforce Development. Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference Content Access, https://peer.asee.org/collections/131

   Delahanty, C.; Herring, S.; Timby, T.A.; & Genis, V. (August 2022, 2022 ASEE Annual Conference Content Access)

   Bucks County Community College (Bucks) is aware of the growing and urgent need for workforce ready technicians to fill numerous industry positions. Our NSF ATE grant #1902075 entitled, "Increasing the Number of Workforce Ready Engineering Technicians in Southeastern PA” is a collaboration between Bucks credit and non-credit sides of the college, and Drexel University as our four-year partner. This grant focuses on workforce readiness of engineering technicians to prepare them for the workforce of the future. We are accomplishing this by including our Center for Workforce Development (CWD) certifications as additional pathways into our occupational engineering technology (ET) major, enhancing manufacturing experiences within the major, and embedding soft skills training and career exploration throughout our ET program. We have restructured our ET major to make it more cross-curricular to accommodate diverse industry needs, and to require a greater business aspect. Within this restructuring, we have created courses in different modalities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to increasing awareness of STEM education to underrepresented groups through K-12 STEM-related outreach initiatives, and are in the process of establishing a plan to recruit such groups into our technician education programs. In addition to the services already in place at Bucks, development of our recruitment plan includes professional development sessions of faculty and staff, discussion sessions at national conferences, Professional Learning Communities, special convenings of students, and outreach initiatives to school districts with a higher percentage of underrepresented groups. We expect that fulfillment of the goals of this grant will increase the number of engineering technicians in our region, and become a blueprint for community colleges nationwide. 

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2. Introducing the NSF-ATE InnovATEBIO National Biotechnology Education Center

   Smith T, Bock H (August 2020, Journal of biomolecular techniques)

   Community colleges play a vital role in preparing the highly skilled technical workforce needed to support the biotechnology industry. Community colleges offer students hands-on practical experience, certificates, and technical degrees. Students include high-school graduates, individuals changing careers, college graduates, and even PhD holders. As these colleges support the many facets of the biotechnology industry, their laboratories are equipped to teach modern techniques, including DNA sequencing, mass spectrometry, microscopy, chromatography, immunoassays, and bioinformatics. Many programs are also developing education skill standards and curriculum to support the latest biotechnology manufacturing that includes CRISPR-based gene therapies, CAR-T, immuno-therapeutics, and patient derived tissues. Some programs have established contract service organizations and business incubators to catalyze regional economic development and provide internships for students entering the workforce. These college-run organizations share many similarities with ABRF core facilities. Over the last 20+ years, community college biotechnology programs have come together to share experiences and learning through the Bio-Link network. Bio-Link was funded by the NSF-ATE (National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education) program until the fall of 2018. In the fall of 2019, InnovATEBIO, a new national center for biotechnology education, was initiated through a five-year NSF-ATE award. InnovATEBIO will build on the Bio-Link foundation to further advance connections between high schools, community colleges, and the biotechnology industry to increase the number of highly trained biotechnology technicians in the United States. InnovATEBIO will support activities designed to increase authentic research and work-based experiences and seeks to develop collaborations with ABRF members supporting course development and partner on projects that could be funded by NSF or others. 

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3. NSF ATE: Improving Electrical Engineering Education Structure by Bridging CTE, Community College, and University Programs through Hands-on Skills Integration: Year 1

   Kamali-Sarvestani, Reza; Villa, Hector G; Nguyen, Khang; Mauro, Antony P (June 2025, ASEE Annual Conference)

   This project focuses on developing three technical courses for lower-division electrical engineering education to bridge the gap between Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in high schools, engineering programs at community colleges, and lower-division electrical engineering courses at four-year universities. The primary goal of the project is to create a seamless academic transition by providing electrical engineering students with the necessary foundational knowledge in analog and digital systems, as well as hands-on experience with laboratory measurement tools. The courses utilize industry-relevant technologies such as LabView, MATLAB, PLC programming, and ready-to-use microcontroller boards to facilitate experiential learning at lower division courses. Early exposure to these tools and systems equips students with practical skills that not only prepare them for further academic pursuits but also align them with workforce demands in industries that increasingly rely on automation, data acquisition, and real-time system controls. The success of this project is attributed to its emphasis on design and project-based learning, which fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for real-world applications. By integrating design principles early in students' educational experiences, they are better prepared to tackle complex engineering problems as they progress through their academic careers. The use of project-based learning allows students to apply theoretical knowledge to tangible, real-world projects, improving their engagement and deepening their understanding of electrical engineering concepts. Practical tools like MATLAB and microcontroller boards in entry-level courses not only motivates students to pursue engineering but also increases retention rates in STEM fields, a key metric for academic success. This project is also advocating for early exposure to hands-on technical skills as a way to better prepare students for the workforce. By focusing on skill development in both CTE programs and early college courses, students are equipped with a stronger foundation for electrical engineering careers and are more likely to succeed in upper-division coursework and beyond. The seamless integration of high school, community college, and university programs ensures that students acquire both the theoretical and practical skills necessary to be successful in an increasingly technology-driven economy. Moreover, the project's use of industry-standard tools, coupled with its focus on bridging academic gaps, provides a sustainable model for developing a skilled and versatile workforce, addressing the growing need for engineers proficient in both design and system implementation. 

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4. Hands-On Simulations to Demonstrate Manufacturing Paradigms

   McCorkle, Milinda; Wingerter, John; Thompson, Patricia; Aqlan, Faisal (January 2020, Proceedings of the 2020 IISE Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   With the rise in manufacturing jobs in the United States, companies are having a difficult time filling the job openings for skilled production workers. It takes an average of two months to fill these positions. This study is designed to introduce the fundamental concepts of manufacturing and demonstrate these concepts through hands-on simulation of the different manufacturing paradigms. The paper is the result of the authors’ participation in a six-week NSF RET program at Penn State Behrend where high school and community college educators worked together to develop curriculum for high school students. Lesson plans, handouts, and required material lists were developed and tested. Surveys conducted after the simulation experiment provided improvements for the exercise. The simulations were then implemented in high school classrooms to improve the awareness of manufacturing among high school students and develop their technical and professional skills. By understanding the evolution of manufacturing and becoming aware of the need to gain advanced skills required for today, students will be encouraged to consider pursuing careers in manufacturing. 

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5. Assessing the Impact of an REU Program on Students’ Intellectual Growth and Interest in Graduate School in Cybermanufacturing

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34183  

   Moturu, Pavan Kumar; Nepal, Bimal; Pagilla, Prabhakar; Bukkapatnam, Satish (June 2020, 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   Advancements in information technology and computational intelligence have transformed the manufacturing landscape, allowing firms to produce highly complex and customized product in a relatively short amount of time. However, our research shows that the lack of a skilled workforce remains a challenge in the manufacturing industry. To that end, providing research experience to undergraduates has been widely reported as a very effective approach to attract students to industry or graduate education in engineering and other STEM-based majors. This paper presents assessment results of two cohorts of Cybermanufacturing REU at a major university. Students were recruited from across the United States majoring in multiple engineering fields, such as industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, mechatronics, manufacturing, and computer science. Several of the participants were rising sophomores or juniors who did not have any industry internship or prior research experience. In total 20 students (ten per year) participated in the program and worked on individual project topics under the guidance of faculty and graduate student mentors. Unlike a typical REU program, the Cybermanufacturing REU involved a few unique activities, such as a 48-hour intense design and prototype build experience (also known as Aggies Invent), industry seminars, and industry visits. Overall, the REU students demonstrated significant gains in all of the twelve research-related competencies that were assessed as a part of formative and summative evaluation process. While almost all of them wanted to pursue a career in advanced manufacturing, including Cybermanufacturing, the majority of the participants preferred industry over graduate school. The paper provides an in-depth discussion on the findings of the REU program evaluation and its impact on undergraduate students with respect to their future plans and career choice. The analysis is also done by gender, ethnicity, academic level (sophomore, junior, senior), and type of home institution (e.g., large research universities, rural and small schools) to explore if there was any significant difference in mean research competency scores based on these attributes. 

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