Manufacturing System Design Experiences For Engineering Students: Means To Address Competency Gaps

Engineering students are employed to design and improve manufacturing systems at the Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Kansas State University (KSU). AMI created the Manufacturing Learning Center (MLC) to accomplish a two-fold mission: to enhance the education of engineering students and to promote economic development in the state. During the past two years, with support from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) MEP program, we have developed the capability to accomplish this mission by employing engineering students to design, improve, and operate real manufacturing processes and systems for client companies under the tutelage of experienced engineers. This paper presents the KSU AMI model and discusses how it is used to close the SME critical competency gaps. 1.0 Introduction Since 1995, the Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI) at Kansas State University has developed a manufacturing education and training entity, the Manufacturing Learning Center (MLC). The MLC was patterned after the teaching hospital model used in medical schools. To enhance the education of engineering students, the MLC provides internship opportunities for engineering students to work on real engineering projects for client companies. These projects have resulted in new products and machines and improved production processes and systems. Ultimately, AMI projects have increased sales, saved and added jobs, and reduced costs for Kansas companies. The experience gained by students working in the MLC fills many of the competency gaps identified in the SME/MEP Critical Competency Studies. In this center, undergraduate and graduate students from engineering, computer science, and business colleges work as interns on product and process development projects contracted with industrial partners. An interdisciplinary group of interns is assigned to work under the supervision of an experienced staff member to accomplish each project. This operation provides a unique and innovative active learning environment for students from several engineering disciplines. Students learn to perform as members of an interdisciplinary team, develop communication skills and realize the business side of engineering activities. Last year, the MLC employed more than 70 undergraduate and graduate student interns to work on real design and manufacturing engineering projects. Since its inception in 1995, the MLC has employed more than 300 students from 56 of the 105 counties in Kansas. They have worked with more than 250 different companies from 37 Kansas counties and have accomplished more than 1100 projects. P ge 735.1 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education This paper describes the Manufacturing Learning Center at Kansas State University and outlines the way in which the MLC has been used to close the engineering graduate competency gaps identified by SME. With the model presented in this paper, the industrial community not only receives the long-term benefits of more experienced and better trained engineering graduates, they also receive immediate benefits from the on-going services provided through this program. 2.0 Background The Manufacturing Learning Center (MLC) of Kansas State University is housed in a 22,000 sq. ft. facility located in the Manhattan area industrial park. The plant is equipped with state-of-themarket manufacturing equipment, engineering design tools, and modern office and project space, a multimedia conference room and a meeting room. This facility and its operations were built with support from a combination of federal, state and private grants. Major grants have been provided by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation, and Kansas State University. The MLC is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI) at Kansas State University. AMI is a multi-disciplinary center sponsored by the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC). Its mission is to create and build enterprises through the advancement and utilization of manufacturing technologies. 3.0 The MLC Model The MLC was patterned after the teaching hospital model used in medical schools. The analogy is presented in the Table 1. To enhance the education of engineering students, the MLC provides internship opportunities for engineering students to work on real engineering projects for client companies. Project teams are formed by AMI on the basis of project needs. Each project team is expected to work within time and budget constraints. Table 1. Teaching Hospital Analogy Teaching Hospital Teaching Factory Hospital Manufacturing Learning Center Medical Doctors Experienced Engineers Medical Interns Engineering/Business Interns Patients Manufacturing Companies Medical Equipment Manufacturing Equipment An engineering staff comprised of nine engineers (mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineers) is employed to work on technology development and technology assistance projects for client companies. Each member of the MLC engineering staff has a technical undergraduate degree and most have a graduate degree. Each MLC engineer has, on average, fifteen years of industrial experience. They are results oriented, have outstanding interpersonal and communication skills and are passionate about mentoring students. They have experience in: direct sales/marketing, company assessment, proposal development, project management and implementation, and customer service.