At Utah Valley State College (UVSC), at least, that's about to change.
The college has received a $1.75 million U.S. Department of Labor grant for mechatronics courses as part of a new associate of applied science degree. UVSC's degree offering will be the first of its kind in Utah.
"In Europe and Asia, mechatronics has been very important since the mid-1990s," said Gordon Stokes, assistant dean of UVSC's school of technology and computing. "We think it will be so here as it spreads out - there's just no question."
Stokes noted that mechatronics technology running automated systems accounts for the largest sector of employment in the Netherlands. Mechatronic technology has been incorporated into many automated aviation systems in the airline industry. The two-wheeled Segway PT device, with its computerized motor that keeps it balanced while in motion, is perhaps the best-known mechatronic device. Micron-Intel, which recently donated $20,000 in scholarship money toward UVSC's new associate of applied science degree in the discipline, also uses mechatronics in its Lehi assembly plant for IM Flash technologies.
Stokes said most career and technical education programs in mechatronic systems are near the East Coast. UVSC's new program will train students in the installation and maintenance of mechatronic technology.
New instruction labs will be set up in UVSC's computer science building in anticipation of the new degree, and the 20 students who have already indicated interest in studying mechatronics will soon be contacted and encouraged to send in applications. There are no plans for new faculty hires as of yet. "We'll see how it builds," Stokes said.
The grant will also provide $4,000 worth of financial assistance per year for 20 students in the new degree program.
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* BEN FULTON can be reached at bfulton@sltrib.com or 801-257-8608.
Two Utah colleges share in grants
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $125 million to select community colleges this month as part of the President's Community-Based Job Training Grants Initiatives, a grant program funding initiatives intended to prepare students in career and technical education programs for careers in high-growth industries.
Three hundred forty-one institutions applied for the grant. Only 69 community colleges received a grant, two of those in Utah.
Besides UVSC's $1.75 million grant, the Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville received a grant for $2.27 million to strengthen instruction and marketing outreach in its composites industry program.
