Central Community College Awarded NSF Grant in 2025

5 days ago

3 min read

Central Community College (CCC) has been awarded nearly $1 million by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This funding will assist CCC in providing mechatronics education to working adults and students in adult education programs. Mechatronics combines computers and machinery and is often referred to as industrial automation. Professionals in this field use problem-solving and practical skills to operate robots and other automated systems in factories and other settings.

The Nebraska Department of Labor anticipates approximately 2,967 job openings annually for mechatronics professionals over the next eight years. Individuals with a degree in mechatronics earn an average of $37.17 per hour. The three-year initiative, which began in August 2025, will educate 180 students using online modules and portable training kits, allowing them to learn without leaving their jobs or local CCC adult education centers. CCC instructors and staff will also train industry partners and adult education workers to support student success. CCC has offered online mechatronics courses in high schools for five years.

Manufacturing and process industries are key economic drivers in the country, and the demand for skilled technicians is rising. Over the past five years, Central Community College (CCC) in rural Nebraska has developed an effective method for delivering hands-on online mechatronics classes in secondary schools. This new project will test this course delivery method with a broader audience: industry workers and adult learners in CCC Adult Education (AE) programs. During the three-year project, 180 students will be recruited for the hands-on distance Mechatronics courses. The Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT), consisting of leaders from participating Nebraska businesses, CCC, and the project team, recommended piloting this initiative with working professionals to expand workforce education. The project's aim is to validate a flexible, scalable delivery model that allows individuals from various backgrounds to access technical training and enhance their career prospects. This adapted model could provide a mechanism to develop a skilled workforce within businesses.

To achieve the project's goal of increasing the number of mechatronics technicians in Nebraska, the project will adapt and test a new delivery method for hands-on distance Mechatronics courses with current industry workers and students in the CCC AE program. The project will capitalize on strong industry and employer demand, significant knowledge and skill gaps among industry workers, and CCC's existing capabilities to create an effective solution. To facilitate the hands-on component of the distance curriculum, industry leaders from participating businesses and AE offices will engage in immersive interactive professional development workshops to enhance their skills with the hands-on Mechatronics trainers and become familiar with the course progression. The project team will build on insights from CCC AE staff regarding the recruitment of motivated, course-ready AE learners. Once enrolled, students will follow a course sequence with one-on-one, hands-on trainers, starting with DC fundamentals in Concepts of Electronics and an Introduction to Instrumentation in the first year of the two-year sequence. The second year will include courses such as an Introduction to Programmable Controllers and Applications of Industrial Sensors. Documented lessons from an extensive evaluation process will be widely shared to support urgent national efforts to increase the number of workers entering high-demand careers in Mechatronics. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program, which focuses on educating technicians for advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been judged worthy of support based on evaluation under the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.