The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

Three educational organizations have been evaluated and selected to receive the ARM Endorsement for academic program excellence, providing the skills and competencies needed to prepare workers for a career in manufacturing working with robotics and automation. These are the first programs to be evaluated through the ARM Institute’s Endorsement program.

The ARM Institute is the nation’s leading collaborative in robotics and workforce innovation, working at the confluence of industry, government, and academia. Structured as a public-private partnership, the ARM Institute and its member organizations catalyze robotic technologies and education solutions to strengthen the U.S. industrial base and secure U.S. manufacturing resiliency. The institute is sponsored by the Department of Defense, and its diverse membership base includes start-ups, research universities, community colleges, manufacturers of all sizes, government agencies, workforce development organizations, and more.

The ARM Endorsement Program is a thorough process used to identify the best of the best – organizations that offer education that meets or exceeds advanced manufacturing job requirements. The program is unique in that it was conceptualized and created through its 300-member national consortium, giving equal voice to manufacturer, education providers and government needs. The Program draws upon a competency and skills framework that supports a manufacturing robotics career pathway, exclusively developed and validated by the ARM Institute national consortium.

The endorsement criteria are comprehensive, evaluating both organizations and their programs based upon the following benchmarks:

• Relevance to the Industry
• Effective Curriculum
• Efficiency of the Training
• Impact of the Program
• Program Sustainability
• Transportability

The three organizations receiving the ARM Institute Endorsements are:

1. Horizon Science Academy Columbus High School (HSA), based in Columbus, OH.  HSA is a public charter school for students in grades 9 through 12. The school opened in the fall of 1999 and has graduated over 1,040 students. HSA’s mission is to prepare students for college and/or career by creating an effective learning community with high expectations and a rigorous curriculum focused on math, science, and technology.  HSA is an accredited College Preparatory High School sponsored by Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West and has been recognized as an EXCELLENT school by the Ohio Department of Education, receiving a National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2012. It was also recognized as a STEM School by Cognia in 2020.  The student body is culturally diverse. The ethnicity breakdown is 87% Black & African American, 6% Hispanic & Latino, 2% Multiracial, 3% White and 2% Asian. Moreover, 100% of the students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program.
2. Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), based in Wichita, KS. WSU Tech is a public community college. The associate degree program is a sequence of courses designed to produce a technician who has mastered the skills necessary to design, assemble, install, program, troubleshoot and maintain robotic and automated equipment and has the depth and breadth of knowledge which comes from general education. The Robotics program was formally launched in Fall 2012. The program was researched, developed, and planned via a partnership with WSU’s National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR). NIAR’s Robotics research lab and staff were located at NCAT and provided access to equipment and subject matter experts (SMEs). Other industry-based SMEs were tapped to provide input on the design and implementation of the program.

3. Wichita State University, Department of Engineering Technology, BS in Program of Engineering Technology – Mechatronics Technology based in Wichita, KS. The Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET) program was approved by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) in academic year 2012, and officially began in the fall 2012. By fall 2017 the enrollment had increased to 138 and in fall 2018 KBOR approved the Department of Engineering Technology to house the engineering technology program. The program has four areas of concentration: Civil and Sustainability, Facilities Management, Engineering Technology Management and Mechatronics. The BSET—mechatronics technology concentration—brings together classroom and applied learning in mechanical, electrical and computer technologies.

These endorsed organizations will be highlighted on the www.roboticscareer.org website. RoboticsCareer.org is a federally-funded, national online capability that connects students and workers with leading robotics education programs for manufacturing careers. Updated on a daily basis, this free resource today lists approximately 10,000 programs from over 1,200 educational organizations in the United States and Territories.

“The ARM Institute is delighted to recognize these stellar programs and institutions that are doing an outstanding job preparing the manufacturing workforce for robotics and automation jobs,” stated Linda Wood, Senior Certification Manager at the ARM Institute. “Our endorsement program makes it easy for education or job seekers to find the programs that best prepare them for a rewarding career in advanced manufacturing.”

Interested parties can learn about and apply for the endorsement program at www.roboticscareer.org/endorsement or by contacting support@roboticscareer.org.

ABOUT THE ARM INSTITUTE

Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) is a Manufacturing USA® Institute sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004. The ARM Institute leverages a unique, robust and diverse ecosystem of consortium members and partners across industry, academia and government to make robotics, autonomy and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small, train and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our economy and global competitiveness, and elevate national security and resilience.  Based in Pittsburgh, PA since 2017, the ARM Institute is leading the way to a future where people & robots work together to respond to our nation’s greatest challenges and to produce the world’s most desired products. For more information, visit www.arminstitute.org and follow the ARM Institute on LinkedIn and Twitter.