Purdue launching Smart Manufacturing Academy
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Purdue University on Tuesday announced the launch of an online smart manufacturing education program designed to help businesses and industry associations enhance the skill sets of employees.
The university is partnering with Ireland-based Accenture on the Smart Manufacturing Academy, which will have a curriculum focused on the digital transformation in the manufacturing industry.
Purdue said the curriculum is structured asynchronously, allowing employees to take the courses at their own pace. Topics covered by the program include industrial Internet of Things, advanced automation and robotics, security, network infrastructure and business skills.
Diana Hancock, associate vice president of educational partnerships at Purdue, said the program “is poised to make a mark on the upskilling landscape for frontline manufacturing operators, supervisors and technical experts.”
The curriculum features 15 hours of material in the form of interactive tutorials, videos and other learning aids. Participants can hit learning milestones and earn microcredentials and digital badges for completing the courses.
“As we help our clients reinvent manufacturing and build new facilities in North America, we see time and time again how important it is to take the workforce along the journey,” said Prasad Satyavolu with Accenture. “The academy will provide proven know-how, peer experiences and real-life examples to workers and their managers. This learning experience will equip them with critical skills and help turn technology skeptics into active participants in the digital manufacturing reinvention.”
Purdue said it is working with Conexus Indiana to promote the academy to its members, as well as various industry partners to engage employers to opt their workers into the program.
Conexus CEO Fred Cartwright said the academy fills a critical need for the advanced manufacturing sector as more companies realize the need for digital skills as a means to be competitive in the future.
“The academy’s virtual, industry-derived trainings help local manufacturers upskill essential on-the-floor talent while explaining the ‘why’ behind the adoption of digital tools to help change workforce behaviors in favor of digitization,” Cartwright said in written remarks.
The academy represents an expansion of a five-year agreement between Purdue and Accenture announced in 2022.