Ohio Department of Higher Education awards Owens Community College with over $100,000 grant

Owens Community College has been awarded over $100,000 by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The money will be used for improvements to the advanced manufacturing and robotics programs at the Findlay and Toledo area campuses.

The total grant amount is $101,012 which will be used to buy FANUC iRVision hardware and software, a process control learning system, and three portable video conference systems.

Owens Community College offers FANUC certification to students at the Dana Center for Advanced Manufacturing Training, which is located on the Toledo area campus. Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnership students can also learn about robotics on the Findlay area campus as part of an apprenticeship.

Daniel Kelley, Owens Community College Dean in the school of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, spoke to the Sentinel-Tribune on the benefits the grant will bring to the community, as well as students, saying, “The local industry will benefit from the state-of-the-art equipment provided by the Ohio Department of Higher Education grant. Equipment will support experiential learning and hands-on experience to best prepare students to meet the needs of Industry 4.0 and the highly-technical advanced manufacturing jobs available today and in the future. The degree and certificate programs we offer provide students with broad education and hands-on experience required by industry for the 21st Century workplace.”

More information about the advanced manufacturing and robotics programs at Owens Community College can be found at the school's website.