The TechEd Podcast

Every institution of higher education is facing two major changes right now: Automation and artificial intelligence are universally transforming every sector of our economy (including the training required) - from healthcare to manufacturing, agriculture to education. Meanwhile, changing demographics and attitudes toward education are impacting enrollment rates and colleges' strategic focus.

In the midst of these changes, Dr. Kat Linaker has taken the helm of Minnesota's Riverland Community College. She comes with a passion for technical education and an enthusiasm for embracing these imminent changes in a way that will empower her students and impact Riverland's community.

In this episode, hear how Dr. Linaker plans to address these two major changes at Riverland. There are tons of insights you can implement in your own organization!

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. Technical and community college can fundamentally change the lives of individuals: As a first-generation college student, Dr. Linaker has experienced how life-changing education is, especially those looking to build a strong future for themselves, their family and their future. Technical and community colleges provide that opportunity for millions across the country, regardless of socioeconomic background. 
2. Automation is changing the way work is done in every sector of our economy: With her background in the health field, Dr. Linaker understands how the same concepts of automation, digitization, data analytics and AI that we see in manufacturing are also changing healthcare, agriculture, food production, and even the business of education. We discuss what that looks like in Riverland's region and how the college is shifting their strategy to prepare for a new automation generation.
3. Higher education can use AI to better serve students: The first way education should leverage AI is to use these tools to complete some of the necessary but mundane tasks that eat up teachers' time that could better be spent with students. Paperwork, grading, and administrative tasks can all be done with tools that are available or in development. Secondly, schools can improve the education experience by running all the data available to them through AI tools for use cases like predictive scheduling and monitoring students' progress to identify those who might need help sooner than ever before.

Connect with Riverland Community College online:
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Episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/riverland/

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1. Technical colleges serve an unbelievably diverse range of learners, and they need to have a delivery model that can meet the needs of each: Traditional students (those coming directly from a high school) only make up a portion of technical college attendees. From transitioning military members, to incumbent workers, to justice-involved individuals, to those seeking their GED, Western serves them all. Roger explains how the college has different resources and pathways for each type of learner, from Operation Next for the military to customized training for workforce partners.
2. Degrees are important, but they're not everything: People today realize that skills are more valuable than a diploma. Western Technical College has recognized this shift and has made their workforce training programming extremely modular and customizable. That way, learners can focus on the targeted skills that are most relevant to them while maintaining the option to build into a degree later on if they choose.
3. A technical college education gives individuals the confidence that they can achieve their goals: Many technical college attendees are nontraditional students. Whether they're coming back later in life to finally earn their GED or whether they're a high school graduate who never felt successful in an academic setting but thrives in a hands-on environment, a technical college education gives learners confidence to pursue their career ambitions.

• Read about Operation Next in this local news release

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Ever wonder what it would look like to create a bachelors degree program so innovative, so accessible, so flexible, and so industry-driven that it's the first of its kind in the nation?

The University of Wisconsin-Stout has done just that with the new Automation Leadership degree.

Built on industry-recognized credentials with a  focus on hands-on skills and career readiness, the Automation Leadership program is meeting an acute need in the manufacturing industry in a way no other degree can. After completing the program, students will be equipped with the essential technical and leadership skills to take any company through a digital transformation.

UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank and Dr. David Ding, Director of Stout's School of Engineering join us on this invigorating episode where we dive deep into just how innovative this program is.

3 Big Takeaways:

1. The Automation Leadership degree meets a crucial need of industry - the combination of technical and business skills: Manufacturers seeking to invest more in automation need someone who can take their company through a digital transformation. The Automation Leadership degree does just that.
2. The future of higher education consists of more on-ramps and off-ramps, greater flexibility, and more credit for prior learning: Discover how the university is making it easy for high school students, community college students and even incumbent workers earn credit for prior learning, take courses remotely, and earn a bachelors degree with very little university tuition paid. Spoiler alert: up to 88 credits of the degree can be earned through associated SACA certifications!
3. Built on skill standards defined by industry, the Smart Automation Certification Alliance credentials make up a foundational part of this new degree: UW-Stout didn't reinvent the wheel in this new program. By aligning courses to already-existing certification standards, the degree is guaranteed to meet the needs of industrial employers. Additionally, any SACA member institution across the country has the opportunity to create articulation agreements with UW-Stout, and students anywhere in the country can earn the Automation Leadership degree remotely.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Read the press release about the new program
• Visit the Automation Leadership degree page for more information and program contacts: https://www.uwstout.edu/programs/bs-automation-leadership
• To learn more about the Smart Automation Certification Alliance, visit their website: https://www.saca.org/

Connect with UW-Stout:
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Episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/automationleadership/

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Let's face it: college isn't for everyone. Especially with the amount of student debt being carried by individuals long into their career; oftentimes, for degrees that don't even get used.

We need to inform and inspire students towards careers they're passionate about and wired for, and help them find the right education option that will get them to that goal. Parents, educators, mentors in the workforce - we all have a role in making sure the next generation workforce has the right set of skills for their profession, especially in manufacturing.

In this episode, we bring on Terry Iverson - Founder of CHAMPION Now and author of Inspiring Champions in Advanced Manufacturing: Discover the Path to a Debt-Free Career. Terry's books are all about highlighting the world of manufacturing and why it's a great career choice. And in this latest book, it's a unique message to parents and their teens.

Listen in for a great conversation about mentorship, the right education for the right career, manufacturing, and the value of asking the right questions and having candid conversations with students.

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

• Students need an education that's aligned to their career goals: Let's flip the all-students-go-to-college mindset to one where students are provided all the options available to them post-secondary, and then they make an informed decision that aligns to their career goals. That means teaching them the ROI of an education, teaching them about college debt, and helping them discover what they're passionate about.
• Manufacturing (and similar industries) need to be options on the table: When students sit with their school counselor and when parents have conversations about the future with their kids and teens, they need to include options like manufacturing, the skilled trades, and other often-overlooked industries. There are tons of benefits to a manufacturing career, like good wages, overtime opportunity, upward mobility, employers will pay your way through school, and having a set work schedule. It's great for those hands-on individuals who would rather be on their feet, solving problems, building things, working with technology than sitting at a desk all day.
• Parents and their students need to have candid, informed conversations with each other: Whether it's a parent teaching their teen about the long-term effect of student debt or a kid telling their parent that they love their welding class and want to do it as a career, parents and their kids need to have more open conversations about career goals and all the options to get them there. That's why Terry wrote his latest book (link below) - so families can have these candid conversations.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Visit CHAMPION Now's website: https://championnow.org/
• Learn more about Terry's books:
  • Inspiring Champions in Advanced Manufacturing: Discover the Path to a Debt-Free Career
  • Finding America's Greatest Champion
• Learn more about Manufacturing Day (plus, find an event near you or host one yourself): https://www.mfgday.com/

Connect with CHAMPION Now online:

Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook |  YouTube

Episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/iverson/

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Artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword, it's a reality in every space in our lives. In this fast-paced episode, get a crash course on artificial intelligence from podcast host Matt Kirchner as he breaks down this complex concept into easily-digestible components.

What is artificial intelligence in layman's terms? Get a new definition that will help make sense of AI like never before.

Plus, hear the breakdown of the 4 elements that every artificially intelligent system does. Once you know these elements, you can see them at work in all AI platforms and you can begin to teach it at every level of education.

Finally, get 7 real-life examples of how to bring AI technology into the classroom today.

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. Artificial intelligence defined: We break down AI with the simplest definition you'll hear, starting with a definition of what artificial and intelligent each mean. Then, we can define the full term. At its core, AI is an algorithmic implementation of human experience and learning. Listen in to hear how we come to that definition.
2. Every AI system does 4 things - See, Think, Do, Communicate: AI is simple once you understand the four elements that make an AI system. Matt dives into what these four elements mean and how they work in AI systems you encounter in your everyday life.
3. Get 7 examples of artificial intelligence that can be taught in schools today: From K-12 through graduate programs, AI technology should be taught in technical and engineering education. Matt gives 6 examples and demonstrates how the four elements fit into these systems: industrial robotics, 3D scanning, coding & programming, drones, CNC machining centers, autonomous mobile robots, and self-driving cars.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Learn more about Quanser, the engineering education company who's AI definitions and technology are discussed in this episode: https://www.quanser.com/
• If you're interested in AI in the classroom that we discussed, send us an email and we can connect you to resources.

Episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/howtoteachai/

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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is on a mission to develop the fastest-growing and most equitable economy in the country. With technology progressing faster than ever alongside a tight labor market, Kerry Ebersole Singh has an important job as MEDC's Chief Talent Solutions & Engagement Officer.

We sat down with Kerry to discover how the MEDC is addressing the workforce needs of the state's employers. It's an episode full of insights, takeaways and strategies every state government, employer and education system can learn from.

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. Workforce development requires short-term and long-term strategies: For sustainable economic growth, states should build talent strategies that pay off in the short term and in decades to come. Short-term efforts include incumbent workforce training, bootcamps and certification programs, and technical/community colleges partnerships. Long-term strategies seek to build more STEM-focused learning in K-12 education.
2. Certifications play an important role in this era of lifelong learning: In today's workforce, every individual will have to continually learn new skills to remain current throughout their career. In response, more employers are embracing third-party credentials that will ensure their employees have the industry-standard skills needed. Employers can then align their employee training efforts with these credentials to help those individuals progress in their career.
3. Industry, education, and government can work cohesively to align needs and resources: Employers: sit down with the president and deans of your local college and clearly articulate your workforce needs. Contact your local and state economic development organizations to discover resources available for your workforce needs. In this episode, Kerry shares a unique project the MEDC has done to connect the needs of employers with the resources available at each university and college in Michigan.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Learn more about The Michigander EV Scholars program
• See all resources from the Talent Action Team: https://www.michiganbusiness.org/talent-action-team/

Connect with MEDC online:
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View episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/medc/

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Big opportunities await across small towns in North Dakota. From agriculture to manufacturing, energy, healthcare and defense, the industrial workforce has a strong presence in the state. Now more than ever, career and technical education is vital to the state's economy.

We took a two-week tour through North Dakota, interviewing leaders in CTE at every corner of the state, to discover what makes North Dakota so unique. Join us on a journey in this unique episode of The TechEd Podcast.

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. The big-yet-small mindset of North Dakota is a huge benefit for CTE: The whole state has a small town feel - "North Dakota nice" they call it. Though the state's population centers are few and far between, everyone is connected with everyone else. The willingness to support and help one another goes beyond neighbors. Industry is willing to partner and support their local career centers; school districts share best practices with one another; and the students benefit in the end. 
2. State governments must allocate more funding to support career and technical education: Go into nearly any school district and they'll tell you their biggest challenge is not having the funds they need. That's not the case in North Dakota. Across the state, educators shared how supportive the state legislature and governor have been in expanding and updating CTE in the state.
3. Growing CTE isn't just about doing more, it's about doing better, too: Educators and employers agree: we need more CTE in our schools. But we can't just keep doing what we've always done. Traditional courses like welding, metals, wood shop and small engines can continue, but we need to upgrade and update our labs to be relevant to industry's fast-moving technology and workforce needs. That means adding mechatronics, IIoT, smart manufacturing, robotics and automation, drones, computer science, and the list goes on.

Speakers Featured in this Episode

• Dale Hoerauf - Bismark Public Schools Career Academy
• Ryan Pierce - Cass County Career and Technical Education Center
• Eric Ripley - Grand Forks Public Schools
• Jeff Rerick - Mandan Public School District
• Steve Holen - Watford City School District
• Pam Stroklund - Minot Public Schools
• Mike Hanson - North Valley Career and Technology Center
• Derrick Bopp - Sheyenne Valley Area Career and Technology Center
• Dan Spellerberg - Southeast Region Career and Technology Center
• Aaron Anderson - Southwest Area Career and Technology Center

Episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/northdakota/

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Sue Smith is the Vice President for Advanced Manufacturing and Applied Sciences at Ivy Tech Community College - Indiana's largest post-secondary institution and the largest singly-accredited community college in the U.S. With 19 campuses and 41 sites, her job is to ensure there's a pipeline of skilled workers for industrial employers all over the state.

In her efforts to keep Ivy Tech's manufacturing programs current with industry trends, she's helped launch new degrees and certificate programs that are actually ahead of the game.

Graduates are entering the workforce with skills in automation, autonomous systems, digital integration and smart manufacturing that actually enable them to lead their company from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0.

In this episode, Sue shares her experiences leading one of the most advanced technical education programs in the country.

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. For the first time, education is ahead of industry when it comes to technology adoption: While the big brands have entered Industry 4.0 already, most manufacturers are still in Industry 3.0. For the first time, technical education institutions that have embraced smart manufacturing are ahead of their local employers. This is great news for the workforce, as graduates from these programs can help lead their companies into the future.
2. Industry certifications should be built into every technical education program: When certifications are built and backed by employers, students earning them have verified proof of skills. It's a competency-based approach to education that the workforce today needs. It's also a great tool to create standardized, flexible pathways when expanding and articulating programs.
3. Want to stay on-pace with emerging technologies? Find ways to integrate them into your existing programs: Semiconductors, electric vehicles and battery manufacturing are just three emerging technologies the country has its eyes on. To make sure we don't fall behind, education should find ways to crosswalk competencies between traditional mechatronics and these technologies, then add curriculum, equipment and certifications to teach the unique aspects of each technology. The same can be said for autonomous systems, AI, etc.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Learn more about Ivy Tech's Smart Manufacturing and Digital Integration Degree
• Visit the Smart Automation Certification Alliance site
• Learn more about the Automation Leadership Degree at UW-Stout
• Learn more about Ivy Tech Community College

Connect with Ivy Tech online:
Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  YouTube

Visit episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/smith/

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In today's manufacturing landscape, culture can make or break your business. But culture is about far more than a catchy mission statement or list of company values displayed on the wall.

John Mellowes is the CEO of Charter Manufacturing and an expert on company culture and joins us for an important discussion that every business leader needs to hear.

In this episode...

• Building a long-term business strategy vs. short-term revenue goals
• How to include every team member in continuous improvements (and how Charter has measured CI projects over 20 years)
• Why products and business strategy will fail without the right culture
• The "success formula" and the feedback loop that drives continuous positive results
• The 4 drivers of employee engagement
• Leadership vs. stewardship (and why the distinction should matter to business leaders)

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. The "success formula" proves the value of culture on your bottom line: In every organization, there is a direct relationship between culture, engagement, performance and results. Culture drives employee engagement. Engaged employees improve their performance. Improved performance drives better results for the company. These results mean more resources the company can invest back into employees and the business. This reinvestment builds up the healthy culture. (And on and on the cycle continues).
2. Want engaged employees? Work on these four things: If you provide these four things to your employees, you'll see their engagement skyrocket: psychological safety, being part of a team, being recognized for their role on the team, and the opportunity to develop toward their personal potential.
3. Leaders must also be stewards of the business: Stewardship is similar to leadership, with the added element of time. In other words, a steward leads a company with the mindset that they will one day leave it in the hands of another. The goal is to leave it better than you found it, ensuring the long-term growth and success for generations to come.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Book: Drive (by Daniel Pink)
• Book: Start with Why (by Simon Sinek)
• Book: How to Win Friends and Influence People (by Dale Carnegie)
• Visit Charter Manufacturing's website: www.chartermfg.com

Connect with Charter Manufacturing online:

Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook

Visit episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/mellowes/

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The U.S. Department of Defense has over 100,000 engineers working on some of the most innovative and critical technology projects in the world. In fact Dr. David Honey, Deputy Undersecretary for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), calls it a "STEM-powered enterprise."

Within the Department, the USD(R&E) serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), leads research across 14 critical technology areas, develops partnerships with select universities on advanced projects, oversees research initiatives by collaborative entities, and plays the important role as advisor to the rest of the Department on matters related to science, technology, engineering and more.

We had the unique privilege to sit down with Dr. Honey to explore this work and how it ties back to STEM education in so many critical ways. Educators, be prepared to hear some fascinating opportunities for your students, as well as gain access to resources you can use in your own classrooms and labs.

3 Big Takeaways from this episode:

1. If you're in STEM, you're pretty much future-proof: STEM workers are becoming more critical every day. From maintaining our current technology base to designing tech of the future, the U.S. needs more STEM-focused students. Educators and parents: continue to provide hands-on opportunities for students to pursue their interest in STEM areas.
2. These three characteristics make for an ideal engineer at the Department of Defense: Commitment to lifelong learning (learn, grow and keep your skills sharp); desire to be creative (vision what the future could look like, and get to work on it); tie yourself to a mission that is bigger than you (like mankind's race to the moon, good engineers are driven by a purpose outside themselves).
3. There isn't any area of STEM that isn't relevant to the work of the Department of Defense: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math - each plays a critical role in the DoD's work, especially through the 14 critical technology areas, which include biotechnology, quantum science, trusted AI and autonomy, hypersonic, integrated sensing and cyber, and more (see link below for full list).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Learn more about the USD(R&E): https://www.cto.mil/
• Read more about the 14 critical technology areas
• Discover the UARCs and their research focus
• Find STEM Education resources for educators and students
• Innovation Pathways at USD(R&E)

Connect with USD(R&E) online:

Twitter  |  LinkedIn

Connect with DoD STEM online:

Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

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