![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
Clarksville, TN<\/strong> – Austin Peay State University (APSU) is on track to be the second university in North America to award a bachelor\u2019s-level Siemens Mechatronic Systems Certification Program, and the University hopes to launch the program as early as fall 2019.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a highly coveted program that allows students to be Siemens-certified at three levels,\u201d Matthew Anderson, interim chair of the APSU Department of Engineering Technology, said. \u201cFirst is a certificate, second is an associate degree, third is a bachelor\u2019s degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Austin-Peay-State-University-to-offer-Mechatronics-Bachelor\u2019s-Degree-2.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
<\/a>Austin Peay State University junior Ushma Patel of Clarksville works with the new $300,000 mechatronics system.<\/p><\/div>\n
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Several community colleges in Tennessee offer the first two levels in partnership with Siemens, but only Middle Tennessee State University offers the bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n
In order to land Siemens as a partner, Austin Peay bought high-level mechatronics training equipment and sent Anderson to Berlin, Germany, this summer to undergo Siemens training.<\/p>\n
Anderson is now qualified to teach the Siemens mechatronics program at the certificate, associate and bachelor\u2019s levels. He\u2019ll teach students on the new equipment as early as the spring semester, he said.<\/p>\n
What Each Level Means<\/h3>\n
Even though several Tennessee community colleges offer the certificate- and associate-level Siemens training, such programs are rare globally. And the bachelor\u2019s level is in its infancy.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Austin Peay State University sophomore Madalyn Mercer of Humphreys County said of the new mechatronics system: \u201cWhenever I go for an interview and they ask me what this mechatronics equipment is, I\u2019ll know the answer, and if they ask if I know how to use it, I\u2019ll say, \u2018Yes, I do. They taught me at Austin Peay.'”<\/p><\/div>\n
Austin Peay will award associate- and bachelor\u2019s-level Siemens-backed degrees.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the difference among the levels:<\/h4>\n
Level 1 (certificate):<\/strong> Siemens calls workers with this level of training \u201cmechatronic system assistants.\u201d They are \u201cwell-grounded machine operators\u201d trained to maintain and troubleshoot mechatronic systems.<\/p>\n Level 2 (associate degree):<\/strong> Siemens calls workers with this level of training \u201cmechatronic systems associates.\u201d They are \u201chighly skilled technicians\u201d who can manage, investigate, repair and troubleshoot mechatronic systems.<\/p>\n Level 3 (bachelor\u2019s degree):<\/strong> Siemens calls workers with this level of training \u201cmechatronic systems professionals.\u201d They are a \u201cdesigner of and expert on\u201d mechatronics systems who can design, manage and improve the systems.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bachelor\u2019s degree is designing the systems, not just maintaining equipment,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt would be helping set up the system, optimizing it, managing it.\u201d<\/p>\n [320right]The mechatronics equipment and faculty training were paid for with a U.S. Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment grant awarded to the Pennyrile Area Development District to administer Fort Campbell Strong, an initiative to support the economic health of counties near the Army post.<\/p>\n The counties are Stewart County, Montgomery County and Robertson County in Tennessee and Christian County, Todd County and Trigg County in Kentucky.<\/p>\n The payoff is obvious.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at all the industry we\u2019ve had coming in the last few years,\u201d Dr. Russ Longhurst, associate professor in the APSU Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy, said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got LG Electronics, Hankook, Google, and the list goes on.<\/p>\n Joshua Schlensker and Ushma Patel, both of Clarksville, and APSU lab technician Timothy Daniel examine the new mechatronics equipment.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWe have a readily available workforce coming out of the military consistently,\u201d he added. \u201cIf we could get those folks some training in high-tech manufacturing, it would put the area in a much better position to recruit industry. But it would also help the current industry here by supplying them a skilled labor force.\u201d<\/p>\n The grant money is intended to help meet the needs of military and civilian students, Fort Campbell Strong documents note.<\/p>\n [320left]The Siemens format dominates mechatronics automation worldwide, \u201ctherefore, it is imperative that any certificate- or degree-awarding mechatronics program follow training standards developed by Siemens,\u201d the same documents read.<\/p>\n The grant is in its second of two years and has provided about $300,000 to Austin Peay to buy the mechatronics equipment and $60,000 for Siemens training, according to Fort Campbell Strong documents.<\/p>\n The grant also has provided about $350,000 of equipment and training at Hopkinsville Community College and $185,000 of equipment and training at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology campus in Clarksville.<\/p>\n Read more about the mechatronics equipment at www.tech-labs.com\/products\/amatrol-mechatronics-learning-system<\/a><\/p>\nGrant Backs Training, Equipment<\/h3>\n
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