Expertise Project

Students cannot discuss something they haven't seen before. Cory Albrecht and tanya macri from the Advanced Institute for Manufacturing - Mohawk Valley's Manufacturing Extension Partnership part of the larger National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) network - took time promote Mohawk Valley Manufacturing at Utica City School District's two day Career Exploration Event at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy. They were asked to introduce advanced manufacturing work environments and job opportunities to groups of a dozen seventh and eighth graders in a series of fifteen-minute long sessions. Most of the students had never set foot in a manufacturer, or have much exposure to manufacturing -- so how? The AIM Team are early adopters of Expertise Project. Their team has a rolling case of Expertise VR headsets, loaded with 360 degree tours of Mohawk Valley Manufacturers - created through a series of partnerships and contracts over the past several years - including 360 degree tours of the manufacturing training programs at Mohawk Valley Community College. So they're able to bring these worksites with them - virtually - wherever they choose to go, to show them to whomever is interested in learning about them. Cory and Tanya welcomed each group and chose two local manufacturers to feature using VR. Students first toured Danfoss' semiconductor manufacturing clean room -- located only a short walk from where the students were standing -- and asked them to describe the work environment, what the professionals were wearing, and what types of products they were creating. Afterwards, students toured CTM Corporation's metal manufacturing space in Frankfort, NY - using 360 videos created by experiential learning projects by Central Valley Academy and other partners - so they could compare and contrast. When time allowed, they also toured the manufacturing training spaces at MVCC to understand the training #pathways available to them here locally in #NewYorkState. Expertise Project promotes the development of these style of tools and services because when we look at #workforcedevelopment in our region, there is a pretty stark line between those who those who share pamphlets and those who share experiences - and so much depends upon more professionals doing the latter more often with more students and recruits.