This summer, ten students ages 15-20 had the opportunity to attend a two-week certification program in collaborative robotics and automation at EWI’s New York facility. This “cobot camp,” funded by Build Back Better and the State of New York, was offered as an option for high school and college students participating in Mayor of Buffalo’s six- week Summer Youth Internship & Employment program at the Northland Workforce Training Center.
“More and more companies are integrating collaborative robots into industry,” said Susan Witt, Industrial Training Manager at EWI. “We wanted to introduce students to cobots earlier and give them a leg up to help them on their journey.”
Participants spent four hours each day learning the ins and outs of the Universal Robot cobot platform. EWI Applications Engineer Dan Vrana served as lead instructor and was assisted by two teaching assistants from the University at Buffalo Engineering School of Education, Monica Perez Olmedo and Duncan Mullins. At the end of the two weeks, students took the test to earn the Universal Robot Core Certificate. This is the same professional certification that engineers (including those at EWI) receive to work on this platform. We are thrilled to report that all of our program graduates – five high school and five college students – passed and are now qualified for employment as UR operators.
Across the board, participants were highly engaged and enthusiastic. “I thought manufacturing was just cut and simple… place this here, put this together, and it’s done. This [program] definitely opened my eyes,” said one student. Another teen reported, “After high school, I can get a job, and then I can pay for my own college which is really big for me.”
With the success of this pilot program, we expect to hold more automation certification camps in future summers.
To hear more from the students and course leaders, click here to view this video.
Questions about this or other EWI training courses? Contact Susan Witt at [email protected].