Kent State University to help train workers for Intel factories in Ohio
As President Joe Biden hailed the groundbreaking of Intel's semiconductor factories in Licking County Friday, Kent State University announced plans to help train the workforce in response to a request from the tech giant.
More:Live updates: President Joe Biden at Intel event: 'Made in Ohio' no longer just a slogan
KSU, along with seven other institutions in Ohio, were selected to collaborate with other universities to train Intel's future workforce.
KSU's 13 partners include Hiram College and a dozen others outside of Portage County: Baldwin Wallace University, Cuyahoga Community College, John Carroll University, Lake Erie College, Lakeland Community College, Lorain County Community College, Malone University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Walsh University and Wilberforce University.
KSU will receive a $1.1 million grant from Intel over three years to develop its programs.
KSU is among 80 Ohio colleges and universities whose work in semiconductor research and education will be part of the Intel Semiconductor Education and Research Program for Ohio, the university stated Friday.
Dr. Peggy Shadduck, vice president of KSU's regional campuses and dean of applied and technical studies, said KSU and the other seven lead universities would work to make sure existing programs are "very well aligned" with Intel's needs.
One focus is to ramp up the associate degree program in electrical/electronic engineering technology at KSU's Trumbull campus. The program is already thriving at the Tuscarawas campus, and Intel is very interested in workers with that degree, she said.
"One of the things we need to focus on is making sure folks have access to those kinds of degrees," she said.
In addition to KSU's regional campuses, KSU is partnering with Cuyahoga, Lakeland and Lorain community colleges to provide associates degrees to the first group of Intel employees. That's because 70% of the people Intel will hire will need associate's degrees to do those jobs.
KSU and its other partner universities, she said, then will look to provide higher degrees to workers seeking to further their education.
"Intel has indicated that they will be very supportive of their employees moving on to advanced degrees," she said.
Because KSU has access to facilities like a clean room at the Advance Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute at the Kent campus, Shadduck said KSU would host "micro credential" programs where students could use the clean room for training, even if they are not students of KSU.
She said it is imperative that students be trained to work in a clean room environment in order to be prepared to work on semiconductors, and not all institutions have a clean room.
Similarly, the University of Cincinnati is partnering with other institutions to offer training in augmented reality.
"You're bound to get better results when you work together than you'd get on your own," she said.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State University to help train workers for Intel factories in Ohio
