When Northern Kentucky colleges partner with local companies, students' resumes look sharper, just like the region's economic development.
"When we have companies that are thinking about relocating to the region, we make sure we get the prospective companies information about the training and education available in Northern Kentucky," explains Dr. Anthony Clark of Gateway Community and Technical College.
Training and educational opportunities are abundant in Northern Kentucky. Clark handles Gateway's Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM), which opened in 2010 on the college's Boone County campus. Students earn certificates, associate degrees and internships, and such local companies as Mazak Corp. and MAG Industry offer apprenticeships that parlay into full-time jobs.
Companies also send employees to CAM for non-credit courses that can last one week to six months or longer, depending on need. Some receive funding through the
Kentucky Workforce Investment Network System (WINS), a champion of economic development in the Commonwealth.
"The ultimate result is that we build the workforce for the future of manufacturers in the region," Clark says.
Among its latest efforts designed to connect training and education, Gateway is developing a master plan for a new "urban campus" in Covington with a development price tag of $52.8 million (so far). Once complete, the campus will offer a full range of programs, including an approach called Gateway Neighborhood Enterprises, modeled after University of Dayton's Flyer Enterprises program.
"The campus will be a catalyst for other community and economic growth in the immediate area surrounding the campus as well as across the urban core," says Gateway's president Dr. Ed Hughes." As part of the curriculum, we hope to be able to engage students across the college in various programs to develop businesses and run those businesses as part of their studies."
Also in the region, Thomas More College's Biology Field Station is prepping students for allied workforces, namely those of what Professor Chris Lorentz calls STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
"We're making a concerted effort to produce homegrown, highly qualified STEM graduates that we hope stay in Northern Kentucky and make a competitive workforce, and in turn create a better economy," Lorentz says.
The station houses the Center for Ohio River Research and Education, which Lorentz directs. Undergraduates participate in research projects and partner with Northern Kentucky's sanitation district (SD1) and Duke Energy, among others. Lorentz says the center is involved in the
Water Technology Innovation Cluster, an Environmental Protection Agency initiative that calls on "regional expertise to encourage economic development, and environmental and human health protection."
With these opportunities, students are landing great jobs in the region and beyond, Lorentz says.
Like Gateway and Thomas More's applied science centers, Northern Kentucky University's Center for Applied Informatics (CAI) has made fruitful partnerships with local organizations and companies.
The CAI is a strong presence in the university's College of Informatics, housed in the tech-savvy and newly constructed Griffin Hall. Students develop projects in such areas as the Web Development Lab, the Mobile Academy Lab, and the Innovations Center.
To date, their most significant project encompasses technology solutions for the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, funded by a $1.6 million federal grant. TANK now has an iPhone app, a smartphone-ready Web site, and several TANK buses have mobile Wi-Fi (wireless internet).
"Nearly all CAI projects stem from organizations and companies looking to do research projects with the College of Informatics," says marketing specialist Josh Rodamer. "The students can then apply what they have learned in the classroom to solve these real-world technology issues and problems, developing their skills and bettering the community around NKU."
On a quiet afternoon, NKU computer science major Thomas Delaney is talking about
Rainero's Pizzeria. As a CAI student worker, he coded the website for the family business, adding interactive webpages and raising its presence in Google search results. Rainero's had approached NKU's Center for Applied Informatics (CAI) about the project. In April, the Cold Spring pizzeria had a website its employees could edit with a few clicks and key strokes. It saw upticks in store and online traffic.
"This was the first experience I had where it was a constant back and forth with the customer," Delaney says. "It was wonderful seeing their feedback and seeing the way that it affected their business."
For more information about educational or economic development opportunities call Northern Kentucky Tri-ED at (888) 874-3365 or [email protected].
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