Columbia State Community College receives National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant

Columbia State Community College has been awarded a nearly $350,000 National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant that will establish a new robotics certificate program. The funding marks the college’s first-ever National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant receipt.

According to an article on Columbia State Community College’s website, Dr. Mehran Mostajir, who serves as Columbia State’s dean of the Business and Technology Division, was quoted as saying of the grant award and those involved in the project, “We are very excited that Columbia State has received this NSF ATE grant. Thank you to Richard Urban who serves as co-principal investigator, as well as Dr. Jorge Vargas of MTSU who serves as co-principal investigator. This project would not be possible without their efforts.”

The grant project is called Certifying Future Robotics Technicians in Middle Tennessee and will establish a one-year robotics certificate program at Columbus State Community College. As part of the grant funding, Middle Tennessee State University will be partnering with the college to develop additional robotics curriculum. Middle Tennessee State University received approximately $100,000 in funding via the grant. 

The new robotics coursework will be available at Columbus State Community College beginning in the Fall 2025 semester. Participating students will earn relevant industry credentials by completing the program. Additionally, local industry employers have stated that they will utilize the program to upskill their current employees.

Dr. Jorge Vargas, associate professor of engineering technology at Middle Tennessee State University and co-principal investigator on the grant project, said, “We’re extremely excited to work on this robotics certification project. It’s a matter of developing different modules for this certification mapping. There are different topics or subjects for students to do in the field after they get certified.”

Planned modules include assembling, programming, and troubleshooting. 

For more information about Columbia State Community College, visit the school’s website.