LCCC continues to shine with innovation

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Lorain County Community College will offer a second applied degree in intelligent industrial automated systems engineering technology and this is great news for Northeast Ohio.

LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger announced on Oct.7 during the start of production month at Skylift Inc. in Lorain that the college would offer the first undergraduate degree of its kind in Ohio, building on its commitment to create and train the necessary workforce for the 21st century economy.

LCCC has an excellent track record of being the first.

After all, as an institution founded in 1963 at the initiative of the League of Women Voters, the LCCC became the first community college in Ohio to establish a permanent campus.

United States Ninth District Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur spoke at the event saying the LCCC is an asset to northeastern Ohio.

Kaptur, a Democrat from Toledo, praised the college for its innovation in supporting manufacturing and other industries.

He also said he wished his hometown had institutions offering courses like LCCC.

The new degree program received the green light from Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner to move forward with development, which focuses on integrating, operating, modifying, and troubleshooting systems of intelligent manufacturing based on standard industrial equipment directly related to intelligent manufacturing.

The next step in the approval process is to obtain final approval from the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Commission for Higher Learning, following the steps taken when LCCC launched its graduate program in microelectronics manufacturing in 2018.

But like the MEMS program, the intelligent industrial automated systems engineering technology degree curriculum was developed in consultation with local employers with the learn and earn model.

This method allows students to work and take lessons, complementing their education with practical experience in the industry.

What’s noteworthy is that employers and producers from Northeast Ohio were at the table and co-designed the resume.

And Ballinger thanked the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, Lorain County Manufacturing Partnership, and Team NEO for their collaboration and partnership in making graduation possible.

Intelligent industrial automated systems engineering technology represents a multidisciplinary engineering field that deals with the design, modeling, analysis and control of predominantly computer-based automated systems or processes, often referred to as intelligent manufacturing.

Automated systems typically contain a combination of sensors, equipment, devices, software, hardware, and people, and require knowledge of elements of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software programming, networking, safety, and human factors engineering.

The program will be designed to meet the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Engineering and Technology and train students for job roles such as automation engineer, control engineer, systems engineer, and others.

And those positions, which span multiple industrial sectors, are in high demand now with growth expected in the coming years.

According to LCCC, in 2020, more than 21,000 people were employed in northeastern Ohio in similar positions, and 72% of intelligent manufacturing and automation-related occupations require a college degree as a typical undergraduate education.

It is truly remarkable.

Labor market data firm Emsi expects 8,750 regional openings in these occupations over the next five years.

So, it makes sense that this resume becomes available to start training people for these jobs.

Sarah Park, an LCCC student, certainly knows how valuable early exposure to the industry is.

Park is one of three LCCC students working at AgriNomix, an Oberlin-based company that supplies the North American horticulture industry, as a part-time electrical technician.

It started there in September 2019.

Park realized that starting a job with a local company while working on a degree helps students smoothly transition into the workforce after graduation with relevant work experience.

Park assists in wiring, testing, and troubleshooting automated greenhouse equipment before it is shipped to the company’s customers.

He earned his BA in Applied Science in Automated Manufacturing Technology – Maintenance / Repair from LCCC and is pursuing his Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Automated Manufacturing Engineering Technology at Akron University through the LCCC University Partnership Program.

Upon graduation, Park will transition to a full-time field service technician, installing equipment at customer sites across the country.

And as the ultimate goals for higher education institutions, LCCC’s goal is to pave the way for success for every student, a path that leads to well-paid work in a sustainable career with flexible options for earning further higher-level degrees. when the time is right for them.

We commend the new LCCC program as another valuable educational and innovation tool for students to pursue and succeed.

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