This award funded Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) to assist with the expansion of its industrial systems program to its Alexander County campus. Prior to this project, Alexander County high school students did not have access to training in mechatronics/industrial systems and local workers did not have a convenient location to upgrade their skills. CVCC equipped the Alexander Applied Technologies Center with a mechatronics/industrial systems lab to deliver instruction to Alexander County students and to incumbent workers to prepare them for local, high-demand positions in industrial systems and mechatronics. Project objectives included increased availability of curriculum and continuing education course offerings, and an increase in high school students completing relevant pathways and advancing to the community college’s mechatronics and industrial systems program. CVCC trained 70 high school students, traditional college age students, and incumbent workers in related courses. Golden LEAF funds were used to purchase training equipment and software for the lab.
