Umpqua Community College recently opened a high-tech facility meant to help students prepare for current and future jobs in manufacturing and forestry.
Starting in 2023, the college consulted area employers about the layout and equipment, according to UCC President Rachel Pokrandt.
“What arose from those conversations was the need for more cross-curricular programs that pair computer skills, with hands-on skills, with engineering skills,” she told KLCC. “Those folks have a great future in local manufacturing.”
The Advanced Manufacturing and Forestry Hub—located on the college’s main campus just north of Roseburg—aims to encourage collaboration, such as merging computer skills with hands-on skills or engineering skills.
Pokrandt said the programs in the building used to be dispersed across campus. Now, the space reflects what students will see in future workplaces, where employees will need to be able to maintain, program, and service automated machinery.
“Bringing all those together under one roof makes all kinds of programming possible, and allows students to do a lot more project design work together,” Pokrandt said.
The college has started two new programs that will capitalize on the new space: Mechatronics and Artificial Intelligence.
The project cost about $2.8 million, and Pokrandt said just over $1 million was contributed by partners in the high-tech and wood products industries.
