Programs like the Fast Track to Fluid Power/FAMTEN are made possible in part by the generous support of industry volunteers as well as NFPA Education and Technology Foundation and Pascal Society donors.
NFPA, Deltrol Fluid Products, QCC, and Triton College in Illinois received a Best Practices award from the Des Plaines Valley Region (DVR) Education for Employment District for our work to bring more fluid power education and career opportunities to students in the region through NFPA’s Fast Track to Fluid Power/FAMTEN program. Triton’s application for the award says it best:
The Power to Move Students Forward: a High School/College Collaboration to Become a National Fluid Power Training Hub
As a result of the collaboration between Ridgewood High School and Triton College to become a Fluid Power and Mechatronics Education and Training Hub (FAMTEN), the teaching/learning environment has been enhanced through the inclusion of industry-approved fluid power mechatronics teaching and learning objectives in Triton’s Mechanical Design, Mechatronics, and Engineering Technology Design degree and certificate program coursework extending to the related dual credit courses in the high school. The teaching/learning environment also benefits from a focus on fluid power teacher workshops, infusion of fluid power Festo MecLab trainers in the high schools, and the direct classroom involvement of local fluid power companies staffed with practitioner mentors. The environment will also be improved though the ability to provide work-based educational experiences through internships that could lead to employment.
As part of the DVR conference, Paul Jenson, the Associate Vice President of Academic Innovation and Workforce Education at Triton College, Eric Laskey of Ridgewood High School, and I presented on how the Fast Track program will help local students learn about fluid power and connect to the NFPA members in the area that support this program. Those members are Deltrol Fluid Products, IMI Precision Engineering, QCC and SunSource.
If you would like to get involved in NFPA’s Fast Track to Fluid Power program, please contact me at lbeyer@nfpa.com or (414) 778-3364.
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