The TechEd Podcast

05/06/2024

Empowering Girls in STEM! 🦸‍♀️ Our new episode features Dr. Tabby Rabenberg talking about the impact of self-efficacy and hands-on experiences to inspire young women in STEM.

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞...
🔷 The correlation between self-efficacy, confidence & interest in STEM fields

🔷 How to foster a growth mindset and build self-confidence in young girls

🔷 The importance of early exposure to STEM opportunities in elementary and middle school - and why starting career exposure in high school is too late

🔷 Innovative approaches to hands-on STEM education and career pathways at Bismarck Public Schools...just check out these photos from their summer camps!

Listen to episode 167: https://techedpodcast.com/tabby/

21/05/2024

Funding in can be complex, from capital budgets to state and federal grants, philanthropy, support from private businesses and more. Leaders who can successfully secure funding from multiple sources have more resources to innovate their programs, and that's what Grand Rapids Community College is doing.

We talked with the college's new President Chuck Lepper to talk about funding + partnerships.

Just a few creative partnerships that have resulted in additional funding at GRCC you'll hear about:

🔷 Decades-long relationship with Gentex Corporation

🔷 Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) workforce initiatives like Sixty by 30 & EV Jobs Academy

🔷 Michigan Economic Development Corporation's New Jobs Training Program

Episode 165 is now streaming: https://techedpodcast.com/lepper/

15/05/2024

Education is 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.

14/05/2024

Building a better future for our students is going to take the combined efforts of educators, employers and community leaders. The Greater Milwaukee Committee is on a mission to do just that, bringing together the most influential leaders and organizations in to solve some of the toughest challenges facing the city.

Joel Brennan stopped by the studio to dig a little deeper into this organization that's been supporting the city for 75+ years.

From the Brewers to Discovery World to Lake Michigan and our water-centric city, there's a lot of great talk about Milwaukee in this episode.

But there's also a lot of great talk about education. From K-12 to Higher Ed, the GMC is working to solve many of the systemic challenges of urban to create a better future for our kids.

You can stream episode 164 of The TechEd Podcast here: https://techedpodcast.com/brennan/

07/05/2024

STEM experiences can change the lives of generations of learners across an entire community!

At least that's what Discovery World has taught us.

This is WAY more than a science museum. Discovery World is engaging students in immersive, interactive technology experiences that open up their eyes to the wonders of science and all the possibilities in the world of STEM!

For an underserved community like , that kind of experience can have a profound impact on a young person.

CEO Bryan Wunar joined us in the studio for a look at the rich history of Discovery World and how they partner with MPS, families and companies to bring STEM to all learners.

Now streaming! https://techedpodcast.com/wunar/

15/04/2024

Listen as Lake Area Tech President Tiffany Sanderson talks about how expanding an organization can energize staff, customers, students, and community partners on this episode of The TechEd Podcast! Click here to listen: https://techedpodcast.com/sanderson/

26/03/2024

Funding, filling programs, and finding partners in industry - these are three challenges facing technical colleges across the country. A great solution to all these challenges: 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀.

Go into the Diesel Technology wing at North Dakota State College of Science and you'll see four brand-specific programs: John Deere, CASE Construction Equipment, Komatsu Construction North America and Caterpillar.

In order to get into one of these programs, a student has to be sponsored by a dealer, who supports that student through their program. It's a win-win-win:

🚜 The dealer gets a pipeline of skilled technicians who have experience working on their brand-specific machinery

👩‍🎓 The student gets supported through their program, gets access to the latest tech, and has a job ready when they're done with the program

🏫 The college can boast having the latest and greatest machinery available to students, has the input from industry on what's most needed, and has built a solid reputation as the go-to diesel program

Hear all about this model (and how it could be implemented in other programs across the U.S.) in our conversation with NDSCS President Rod Flanigan:

🎧 https://techedpodcast.com/flanigan/

20/03/2024

The Uniquely Abled Academy (UAA) at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) is designed to provide students on the Autism spectrum the hands-on training and high-tech skills needed to prepare for a career as a computer numerical control (CNC) operator.

Hear more about UAA & Peter Rathmann's work with the program in this week's podcast episode!

🎧 https://techedpodcast.com/rathmann/

14/03/2024

Did you know the Girl Scouts have a Junior Programming Robots Badge?! 🤖🏅

Girl Scout troop 20089 visited Acieta and learned how to program a FANUC America Corporation CRX collaborative robot. Their work earned them the programming badge which they now proudly display on their vests!

👏 👏 👏

Read more on the IMTS blog:

Girl Scouts are about more than just cookie sales and camping skills, In fact, Girl Scouts of America is keeping with the times to help build the next generation of leaders, including those destined for the manufacturing industry. We witnessed this first-hand recently when we hosted Girl Scout Troop...

13/03/2024

"Not only did it lift some of their physical workload, but it gave them a little more responsibility. We upskilled them into another position which in benefitted us, but it also benefitted them."

This is the power of !

Check out this latest video from GrayMatter Robotics featuring Lawrence Brothers, Inc.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=8jxyOEdjj0bS47NF&v=W9tFn0e7Tdg&feature=youtu.be

They're using -powered robots to totally revolutionize the surface finishing industry.

Started in 1974, Lawrence Brothers Inc. has legacy of manufacturing in West Virginia through the grit and ingenuity of their people. In the face of new chall...

12/03/2024

What if your company had a digital library of every single part drawing, and what if this library was powered by AI so it could actually 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 all the data (material types, revisions, even identify similar drawings)?

You could cut search times by 80% and procurement costs by 30% 🤯

That's exactly what Yushiro Kato and the team at Drawer have done with their AI-enabled platform.

It's no wonder Kato was recently named a Forbes 30 Under 30, and that CADDi is one of the fastest-growing SaaS startups, with their recent $89 million Series C funding bringing their total funding to $164 million.

Listen to episode 155 and learn:

✅ Why digitization isn't just about 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 data, it's about 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 data

✅ How to harness the individual knowledge of your lifelong employees and make it available for your future workforce's benefit

Now streaming: https://techedpodcast.com/caddi/

08/03/2024

Any company investing in automation has to figure out 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝, from C-suite to shop floor operators.

That's one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturers as they plan for Industry 4.0.

We're thrilled to share that Robert Komljenovic, CEO of Acieta, is one of our featured speakers at the Digital Transformation Summit, talking all things change management.

Attendees will hear Robby share best practices around:
✅ How to build a culture of excitement around digital transformation
✅ Aligning the entire organization on your Industry 4.0 goals
✅ Creating an environment that attracts the next generation to work in manufacturing

More information / register: https://techedpodcast.com/digitaltransformationsummit/

06/03/2024

Investing in automation, smart technology and AI? You'll need a strategy to attract the next generation of students graduating from advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 programs.

They're in high-demand. So the stronger your partnership with local education, the better your chances of getting those students to work at your company.

There's no one better to talk industry-education partnerships than Bryan Albrecht, President Emeritus of Gateway Technical College.

Register for the Digital Transformation Summit and hear from an educator's perspective about how to build stronger relationships with your local technical college!

🔗 Digital Transformation Summit: https://techedpodcast.com/digitaltransformationsummit/

05/03/2024

This week is a fascinating discussion on AI & data in with Dr. Julie Panepinto, Director of The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Division of Blood Diseases and Resources.

🏥 Healthcare is ripe with opportunity for the use of artificial intelligence tools. If we can harness all the data we have, imagine how we could:

✅ Make more medical discoveries, faster

✅ Predict an individual's risk for disease based on countless factors - then provide preventative care

✅ Make faster and more accurate diagnoses (especially with imaging)

✅ Provide precision healthcare tailored to each unique person

Listen to episode 154: https://techedpodcast.com/panepinto/

24/02/2024

Your people are your greatest asset. Build a culture that supports them, and they'll stick around.

From episode 117 with Jan Moore (Ogeechee Technical College): https://techedpodcast.com/ogeechee/

20/02/2024

"There will be two kinds of companies at the end of this decade: those that are fully utilizing AI, and those that are out of business."
- Peter Diamandis

Fortunately for us, Todd Wanek came on the podcast to share tons of best practices for deploying AI - something Ashley Furniture Industries has already done (with 20-30% improvement in forecasting accuracy across 23,000 global retail stores 🤯).

Episode 152 is now streaming, and you'll hear:
☑ How AI will impact each business unit
☑ Knowing when to use existing AI and when to build your own
☑ A step-by-step system to get started with AI
☑ Why you should have an AI champion in your organization
☑ How to identify and enable curious employees - let them explore AI first!

Plus, we're sharing tons of extra resources in the show notes, so get ready for a deep dive into AI.

🔗 https://techedpodcast.com/wanek/

14/02/2024

How can we better serve students in a city like Milwaukee, where 50% of students attend mediocre or failing schools, and only 65% of students even graduate high school? This data isn't anomalous; urban regions across the U.S. are failing our students, creating systems lacking in hope and opportunity for our kids.

One school in Milwaukee has found tremendous success by taking a holistic approach to K-12 education - one where the whole student is served, mind, body and soul.

Abby Andrietsch, CEO of St. Augustine Preparatory Academy (Aug Prep), joins us to share the unique approaches at Aug Prep that have helped students go from failing to 4.0; where graduates have earned over $21 million in scholarships in the 7 years the school has been open.

Discover how Aug Prep has been ranked one of the top K-12 schools in the state for academic success with one of the highest satisfaction ratings for teachers, all while serving low-income students of color from across 43 zip codes in Milwaukee.

Now streaming! 🔗 https://techedpodcast.com/augprep/

06/02/2024

Every student should have access to the educational opportunities they need to pursue the careers they're passionate about - and that means removing as many financial barriers as possible.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭.

They're often working full time, supporting a family, thinking about added costs like transportation and childcare...

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲.

SME Education Foundation and IOScholarships are doing amazing work for STEM, engineering & manufacturing students - giving them access to millions of dollars in scholarship opportunities.

Together, they're on a mission to get scholarships into the hands of more diverse, underrepresented students.

Robert Luce and Maria Fernanda Trochimezuk joined us on episode 150, now streaming!

Catch the episode here: https://techedpodcast.com/smescholarships/

30/01/2024

K-12 education can't be a one-size-fits-all approach. The lack of personalization in the current system is leaving behind those kids who learn in different ways.

That's why superintendent Justin Wagner and Woodbine Community School District decided to throw out the old playbook and implement a new way of approaching K-12 education that focuses on...

☑️ Personalized learning pathways

☑️ Student voice & choice

☑️ Parent involvement

☑️ Career-relevant ways to earn core credits

☑️ Competency-based learning

Plus, hear about the IGNITE Pathways CTE center that offers everything from middle school career exploration to high school skill-building to adult learning programs.

Hear it all in this week's episode, now streaming on Apple and Spotify

Episode 🔗 https://techedpodcast.com/wagner/

24/01/2024

GrayMatter Robotics is totally revolutionizing industrial automation - they're powering their robots with artificial intelligence!

These might be the smartest FANUC America Corporation robots we've ever seen. This technology is absolutely mind-blowing 🤯

Welcome to the age of the "digital worker."

And for episode 148, we sat down with Co-Founder & CEO Ariyan Kabir to dive into all things , , and what this all means for the .

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞...

☑️ What is a 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳, and why robots can increase capacity in an industry plagued by talent shortages

☑️ Automating with a 𝘱𝘢𝘺-𝘧𝘰𝘳-𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 model (no more huge upfront capital investments!)

☑️ How to automate in a 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘮𝘪𝘹, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 environment (some of the most difficult processes to automate)

☑️ What is 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴-𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘐?

☑️ A surprising benefit to automation: 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺

☑️ What the future could look like with more applications for AI-powered robots

Now streaming: https://techedpodcast.com/graymatter/

09/01/2024

Caliber Collision is addressing the skilled talent shortage in the automotive industry AND giving individuals a purposeful career with their new Technician Apprentice Program (TAP).

It's a registered apprenticeship, but unlike others that take 2-3 years to complete, TAP apprentices finish their training in 10-12 months!

Why? Because TAP uses a competency-based model.

THIS is the model we need to close the skills gap. TAP has already seen over a thousand graduates in its first 2 years, with plans to scale to 2,000 per year starting in 2024.

Hear all about this incredible program from Eddie Hightower in this week's episode.

🎧 Stream now: https://techedpodcast.com/hightower/

05/01/2024

Third-party credentials are becoming one of the best ways individuals can advertise their skills, and in 2024, industrial employers are going to start recruiting people who hold these credentials.

More about workforce training trends for 2024 (see predictions 8 & 9): https://techedpodcast.com/2024-2/

04/01/2024

A new Advanced Technology Center + industry-recognized credentials + a new regional manufacturing alliance...College of Lake County is making BIG moves to create a pipeline of skilled talent for the bustling Midwest corridor.

If you want to know what it takes to rapidly add new resources and partnerships to address workforce needs, then listen to CLC president Lori Suddick share her wisdom on episode 144 of the podcast!

🎧 How to listen? We're on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google and everywhere you get your podcasts. Start streaming here: https://techedpodcast.com/suddick/

02/01/2024

It's the start of a new year, and that means...our annual predictions episode is here! Host Matt Kirchner shares the top 9 trends & technologies that will impact the world of technical education in 2024.

EV, AI, Precision Ag, credentials, demographic shifts, workforce training, co-opetition...we share it all!

Now streaming: techedpodcast.com/2024

19/12/2023

This week's episode is a fascinating discussion about the role of innovation in an engineering career! Alyssa Sanders is an expert on R&D, product development and innovation with tons of insights to share!

Plus...here some inside stories about one of our distinguished past guests, Bryan Albrecht!

𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲...
1️⃣ Engineering skills are highly transferrable and can lead to a multitude of career experiences in vastly different industries

2️⃣ Innovation isn't just about creating the next big product on the market; it's also about new ways to improve processes, systems, and products

3️⃣ Engineering on a global scale is a fascinating challenge that crosses multiple disciplines of engineering, different cultures and different ways to think about product design

Now streaming 🎧: https://techedpodcast.com/sanders/

28/11/2023

High-performing leaders know how to sift through noise and focus on the information that matters most. When it comes to our networks, we're inundated with noise. Emails, notifications, social feeds, RSS feeds, too many news sites, contacts scattered across multiple devices, sites and software.

The team at Ren has developed an solution that filters that noise and gives you the important news about the people who matter most, at the moment it matters most.

Episode 140 is now live, featuring Ren Co-founder & CEO Canay Deniz, who shows us that AI can actually improve the quality of relationships with our networks.

🎧 https://techedpodcast.com/ren/

21/11/2023

If you're in manufacturing, then you should know John Dyck and CESMII (The Smart Manufacturing Institute). They are at the forefront of digital transformation in the U.S. and globally.

This week we had a really interesting discussion with John about how to 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 - and it starts with data.

🎧 Listen to the episode as we delve into the intricacies of data acquisition, efforts to standardize data architectures, the IT/OT convergence, micro-credentialing, and other factors that will help you build a "smart manufacturing mindset."

Episode 139 now streaming on The TechEd Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google & wherever you listen to podcasts ➡️ https://techedpodcast.com/cesmii/

19/11/2023

A little glimpse into the future of product development…

16/11/2023

If you don't know much about 3D scanning, be prepared to be amazed by our latest episode with F***y Truchon, President of Creaform. From product design, reverse engineering and inspection, to artifact archiving, 3D modeling, video game character development and medical applications, 3D scanning is something every manufacturer and technical program should invest in.

📢 Plus, hear about brand-new product Creaform has just launched that will totally revolutionize 3D scanning!

🔗 Now streaming on all major podcast platforms and on our site: https://techedpodcast.com/creaform/

31/10/2023

This is a can't-miss conversation with North Dakota Governor and presidential candidate Governor Doug Burgum. It's refreshing to have a leader so on board with student-centered, outcome-focused learning.

𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. This mindset has produced one of the most innovative, collaborative and fiscally-sound statewide education landscapes we've ever seen.

Discover how K-12, higher education and employers can all learn from the success of North Dakota and bring these lessons into their own regions.

Episode 136, now streaming on The TechEd Podcast on Apple, Spotify and Google. 🔗 https://techedpodcast.com/governorburgum/

Doug Burgum