UPDATE: MSC Southeast Team advances to final four in Project MFG's Integrated Manufacturing Competition!
On March 28, we were notified that our team was among the top four selected to compete at Nationals! The four teams going head to head for the National title are Calhoun Community College, Minnesota State College Southeast, Southwestern Illinois College, and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. The teams will be gathering to compete at Greenville (South Carolina) Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation May 8-12. What an incredible accomplishment - we are so proud of our students and instructors. Good luck in Greenville!
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Last fall, teams from across the nation rose to the challenge and competed in the qualification round of Project MFG's Integrated Advanced Manufacturing Competition 2023. Wichita State University Technical College, Southwestern Illinois College, and Calhoun Community College will host the top 16 in the regional round competition.
This week, Minnesota State College Southeast's team is among those competing at the regional level in Wichita, Kansas. Led by CNC Machine Tool instructor Rick Hengel, Bradley Bishop, Ellery Kiesel, Joseph Schultz, Ivey Wadman Vehrenkamp, and Austyn Warren are representing the college.
"The students have worked tremendously hard and they deserve a place in the competition," said Alex Howell, MSC Southeast Dean of Academic Innovation. "We wish them all the best -- whatever happens, we are incredibly proud of them and the instructors!"
At the competition, Project MFG attempts to mirror the modern workplace as much as possible within the confines of a competition environment Teams are challenged with real-world scenarios and pressure tested to showcase the critical skills needed to succeed in modern advanced manufacturing.
The competition requires the production and documentation of a "product," imposing time and cost constraints, and encouraging strategic approaches to optimize production. The teams are expected to perform the competition within the allotted time and complete all tasks associated with the project. They are evaluated on their performance and their product output.
Teams competing in the regional round are the next generation of skilled trades professionals. Besides MSC Southeast, they are WSU Tech, Fresno City College, Suncoast Technical College, Yuba College, Southwestern Illinois College, Ozarks Technical Community College, Streamwood High School, Lowell High School, Vincennes University, Calhoun Community College, Gadsden State Community College, Central Alabama Community College, Pickens High School, TCAT at McKenzie, and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
The top four teams will compete in Project MFG's National Integrated Advanced Manufacturing Competition.
Best of luck to the Minnesota State College Southeast team!
Photo Caption From Left: Austyn Warren, Ellery Kiesel, Joseph Schultz, Bradley Bishop, Ivey Wadman Vehrenkamp, and instructor Rick Hengel.