RSCC holding mechatronics informational sessions today, January 10
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following release was provided by Roane State Community College.)
A new Roane State Community College certificate program in mechatronics will train students to become technicians who operate, maintain and repair high-tech automated manufacturing systems.
The one-year mechatronics program begins Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility, 214 Nave St. in Clinton. Anyone interested in the program should call (865) 481-5424 or email stemmechatronics@roanestate.edu.
Please note that while the college will be closed Dec. 15-Jan. 2, the mechatronics phone number and email will be checked frequently. If you are interested in the program, then please leave a message with your contact information.
Interested students can also attend information meetings on Thursday, Jan. 3 at the college’s Oak Ridge campus (701 Briarcliff Ave.) or on Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility (214 Nave St. in Clinton). The information sessions will be held at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day. Interested students only need to attend one of the sessions.
“A mechatronics certificate leads to excellent careers,” said Roane State’s Jack Parker, who led development of the new program. “We invite anyone who may be interested to call us, and we will help you get started.”
Mechatronics students will receive a $125 Roane State scholarship for each course. Classes will be held four evenings a week.
“The evening schedule is a great fit for working students,” Parker said.
The program will be organized in cohorts. Students will start the program at the same time and stay with the same group as they take the courses. Cohorts give students a supportive network of classmates as they progress through the program.
“The cohort structure also means students do not have to worry about picking classes. The program is already set,” Parker said. “We are looking for 15 students to launch the first cohort, and we will help each student get enrolled and signed up for mechatronics courses.”
Mechatronics includes instruction in electronics, mechanics, computer science, robotics and process control. The program prepares students for jobs as robotics technicians, controls technicians, engineering technicians and other occupations related to repairing and maintaining high-tech industrial equipment.
“Because the mechatronics program teaches various skills, people trained in mechatronics often have more job opportunities than if they had qualifications in only one area,” Parker said.
For example, Roane State courses include subjects such as Fundamentals of High-Tech Manufacturing, Programmable Logic Controllers, Industrial Robotics, Pneumatics and Hydraulics, and Electrical Systems.
For more information about the mechatronics program, call (865) 481-5424, email stemmechatronics@roanestate.edu, or come to one of the upcoming information meetings (scheduled for 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.) on Jan. 3 at the college’s Oak Ridge campus or Jan. 10 at the Nave Street center in Clinton.
The mechatronics program was developed with funding from a $19.7 million grant awarded to the National STEM Consortium (NSC) and 10 community colleges in nine states under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) grant program. The goal of the grant was to develop certificate-level programs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) that could be implemented nationwide to meet critical labor market needs. Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland leads the National STEM Consortium.
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