Teachers are often confronted with such questions from their students, who may not connect what they learn in the classroom with real-world, real-work applications. However, the Fort Collins (Colorado) Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) is helping them by making these connections between manufacturers and students. Established in 1993 by Colorado State University and its Manufacturing Excellence Center, MAMTC is a nonprofit organization that helps small to mid-sized companies become more competitive and increase their business by implementing new technologies, increasing productivity, improving quality, identifying new markets and reducing costs."Manufacturers have been telling us that students are coming out of school without the fundamental education necessary to be successful in industry," said Dave Scheuerman, coordinator of MAMTC's educational programs. "We hope to initiate a three-tier educational program that will increase students desire to learn because they'll see that what they learn in school today can affect their ability to function on the job tomorrow."
Scheuerman is spearheading development of Manufacturing Foundations, designed to introduce middle and high school students to careers in manufacturing. MAMTC will introduce middle school students to manufacturing and opportunities that industry presents through interactive presentations, including the "What's Up in Factories?" curriculum. The Center will offer high school students the opportunity to participate in a competition, judged by industry professionals, in which teams will develop their own product and business plan.
MAMTC has introduced "What's Up in Factories?" through the Public Education & Business Coalition, which is developing a career awareness module for Denver Public Schools. Ninth grade students will explore industry occupations, and construct a cellular phone plus write assembly instructions. The "What's Up in Factories?" video will be presented in the module to encourage students to talk about various elements of manufacturing.
For more information about MAMTC and its educational programs, call Dave Scheuerman at 970-224-3744.