Joint
industry-academia projects with regional industry comprise Florida’s
First Coast Manufacturing Innovation Partnership. The
development of the Manufacturing Innovation Partnership has the
primary goals of project-centered innovations for technology
transfer, training the regional workforce with relevance to industry,
and sustainability of technology transfer through creation of
high-technology jobs. Engineering students are gaining valuable
experience while working on manufacturing and design projects for
First Coast industries. Projects with partnering companies tend
to be strategic in nature with students being important beneficiaries
of the program. Undergraduate engineering students increase
their experience in applying theoretical knowledge and also learn
more about regional industry.
The
experiences gained by the students serve to increase the size of a
more scientifically and technologically literate workforce trained
with relevance to industry. Ten companies have partnered and
jointly sponsored 14 research and development projects thus far,
enabling 26 future engineers to gain valuable experience in
transformational learning opportunities. Example project
innovations include the development of an automated assembly machine
to produce one drug testing kit every two seconds for a law
enforcement products manufacturer; and the development of a safer
cranial tap device for a medical device manufacturer. The
project-centered approach of having students work on technically
challenging projects in collaboration with partnering companies
provides an important focused resource for the regional industries.
