SCT instructor discusses how students benefit from hands-on experience using state-of-the-art Haas CNC machine tools in SCT Machining Program.
(l-r) Ed Doherty Sarasota County Technical Institute (SCTI), Scott Myre President of HFO/Florida, Heather Alqinneh of HFO/Florida with the winner of the Haas CNC Control Simulator, James McCann of Pinellas Technical Education Center (PTEC)
Keynote speaker Jeremy Bout from EDU Factor, an organization that serves academic institutions at all levels, by making careers in manufacturing relevant to students.
Dr. Marilyn Barger from FLATE, the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center, speaks about programs they are developing in manufacturing education, throughout the state of Florida.
Suncoast Technical College Played Host to the 1st Annual HTEC Manufacturing Educators Conference, in Sarasota, FL.
The 1st Annual HTEC Manufacturing Educators Conference was recently held at Suncoast Technical College (STC) in Sarasota, FL. Educators, career counselors, manufacturers, manufacturing associations, education vendors and invited guests were in attendance.
The conference was officially opened by Dr. Todd Bowden, Director of Sarasota County CTE and Suncoast Technical College. Dr. Bowden shared with attendees several manufacturing educational advancements at Suncoast Technical College, with attendees.
Mireya Eavey, of the United Way and Career Edge Collaborative was the next to address the audience. Career Edge was instrumental in getting the STC Machining Program off the ground after having been dormant for nearly eight years. Working with SAMA, a local manufacturing association and its President, Jennifer Behrens Schmidt, they were able to obtain grant money and approach the County of Sarasota and Suncoast Technical College to get the program back on its feet. The STC Machining Program was reestablished in August 2013 and is now in its third year.
The keynote speaker was Jeremy Bout from EDU Factor, an organization serving academic institutions at all levels that help educators make careers and manufacturing technology relevant to students. Bout's presentation demonstrated many tools found at EDUFactor.org, including highlights from its on-line video-based library featuring story-driven lesson plans, bite-size projects and interactive career activities.
Attendees were able to select from several breakout sessions covering a wide variety of topics. Presentations were made by the following suppliers to the HTEC network: Tooling U, CAM Instructor, MasterCam educational, Immerse2learn, Verisurf, NCSimul Machine, Highland DNC, Autodesk Inventor HSM, Sandvik, Florida Dept. of Education, EDU factor, Southwestern TrakMill and NIMS among others.
Florida's first HTEC Manufacturing Educators Conference was sponsored by the local Haas Factory Outlet / a Division of Morris Florida LLC (aka HFO/Florida). Overseeing the event was Bob Skodzinsky, President of HTEC.
Haas Educational Technical Center (HTEC) is an industry and education-led initiative that enables technical schools to acquire state-of-the-art CNC machine tools and related CNC ancillary equipment, software and educational materials at significantly reduced costs. The goal is to provide students with a relevant, high tech and hands-on educational experience.
HTEC also provides a forum to connect nearly 3,000 educators across the globe, encouraging collaboration via an online portal that is free to member schools. In addition, the HTEC Network organizes state and regional CNC educator conferences each year. These one-day events are hosted at member schools and are free to all educators.
Bob Skodzinsky, President of HTEC stated: "To date, there are over 7,500 Haas CNC machine tools installed among 2,900 schools worldwide, 1,700 of which are in the United States. This ensures students who graduate from these schools are work-ready CNC machinists, programmers and engineers prepared for today's industrial employers and the manufacturing challenges."
An additional highlight from the day's events was the raffling off of a Haas CNC Simulator, which was won by James McCann representing Pinellas County schools.
For more information contact:
HFO - A Div. of
Morris Florida, LLC
913 S U.S. Hwy. 301 South
Tampa, FL 33619-4338
813-628-0665
www.haasflorida.com
HTEC
Haas Educational Technical Center
www.htecnetwork.org