In this conversation recorded at the Ignition Community Conference, Vlad, Dave, and their guest David Grussenmeyer from Inductive Automation explore one of the most important and inspiring stories in the world of industrial automation education. David leads the Educational Engagement Program at Inductive Automation and has spent the last several years building a global network of universities, colleges, students, and integrators who are working together to bridge the gap between academic theory and real world industrial skills. This episode provides a detailed look at how the Student Buildathon was created, how it works, why it matters, and what it means for the future of the controls and automation workforce.

The discussion goes far beyond the event itself. David explains how the industry’s needs for engineering talent have shifted, why many academic institutions struggle to keep pace with modern automation technologies, and how Inductive Automation is supporting both professors and students to meaningfully upgrade the curriculum. The episode also explores the importance of industry partnerships, the challenge of faculty bandwidth, the value of internships and academic co op programs, and the realities of teaching automation in an evolving landscape of legacy systems, modern platforms, and everything in between.

Listeners will gain insight into how universities can adopt Ignition, how integrators can help shape the workforce pipeline, how students can develop real industry skills before graduating, and how modern industrial technology can be taught effectively without overwhelming educators. Vlad and Dave also share their own perspectives from years of integration work and reflect on how different their own educational experiences would have been if programs like this had existed earlier. This episode is educational, practical, and inspiring for anyone working in automation, industrial education, system integration, or workforce development.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to the Ignition Community Conference and the Student Buildathon
01:25 How the Educational Engagement Program at Inductive Automation was created
03:22 The origin story behind the Student Buildathon concept
05:16 How the seventy two hour challenge works for student competitors
06:44 Requirements for student teams and how the selection process works
08:49 Why universities struggle to adopt new technology and how industry partnerships help
10:41 How integrator involvement accelerated program adoption across universities
12:28 The gap between academic theory and real industry practice
14:01 Building a complete lab curriculum for professors using Ignition
17:24 Why students should learn both modern and legacy industrial systems
18:20 Feedback from professors teaching Ignition for the first time
20:59 Understanding the different educator profiles and adoption journeys
23:15 How Inductive Automation built the five lab training series for schools
25:17 The future of the educational program including internships and co op models
27:39 Why academic co op programs are powerful for building real engineering experience
29:26 How to join the Student Buildathon or the Educational Engagement Program

Vlad Romanov
Vlad is the founder of Joltek, co host of the Manufacturing Hub podcast, and a long time controls and manufacturing systems engineer with deep experience in SCADA, MES, data architecture, and plant digital transformation. Vlad creates practical industrial education content across YouTube, LinkedIn, and SolisPLC, and works directly with manufacturers on modernization, integration, and performance improvement initiatives. Learn more at https://www.joltek.com/

Dave Griffith
Dave is a systems integration expert, strategist, and consultant with many years of hands on work in automation, SCADA, robotics, and digital manufacturing. Dave is the co host of Manufacturing Hub and advises companies on the intersection of technical systems, operational strategy, and workforce development.

David Grussenmeyer
David Grussenmeyer is the Educational Engagement Program Manager at Inductive Automation. He leads global initiatives to support universities, colleges, faculty members, and students in adopting Ignition for hands on learning. His work has expanded the program from zero to more than three hundred academic institutions worldwide. David also created the Student Buildathon, a seventy two hour Ignition competition designed to push students to think creatively, develop real industrial projects, and gain practical skills that prepare them for careers in controls, industrial software, and automation.
Learn more about the program at https://inductiveautomation.com

Educational inquiries can be sent to [email protected]

Referenced Resources from the Episode

Inductive Automation Educational Engagement Program
https://inductiveautomation.com/community/education

Inductive University
https://inductiveuniversity.com