E-Blast Feb 2019
As a subscriber, you will receive this E-Blast to your inbox every month. The goal of the E-Blast is to keep everyone in the NFN Regional Consortium up-to-date on news, events and other activities happening both in our region and the state. If you would like something placed into the E-blast and/or NFNRC Calendar, please send the information to boydme@butte.edu (please submit by 5pm on the first Monday of the month to be included in that month’s newsletter). A full calendar and more information can be found on the Member Hub of the NFNRC website.
Click here for more information.
Submitted by Wendy Porter, NFNRC DSN Far North housed at Butte College
Registration is still open. Click here to view more information.
April 3-5, 2019 in Sacramento. This conference will sell out. Register today!
April 8, 2019 North/Far North Region in Sacramento. More information.
The annual Ignite Opportunity 5.0 STEM Career Day took place on Friday November 16, 2017. This year’s event was held at Shasta District Fairgrounds. Over 1,000 high school freshmen attended the event. These students represented schools from across the entire region – nine counties of students all in one place, learning all about the STEM careers that exist right here in the Northstate. Over 50 different exhibitors were on hand to discuss the many careers that they represented. Community colleges and other 4 year universities were also in attendance, discussing the many educational programs they offer that align with the represented careers. This year, forensics was the theme of the event which featured keynote speakers from local law enforcement. Students also participated in a hands on STEM Challenge and had to solve a crime!
Submitted by John Schmidt, NFNRC DSN housed at Shasta College.
On November 1st, nearly 3,000 middle school, high school and college students from the North State got a taste of advanced manufacturing at the 5th Annual North State Grow Manufacturing Expo. Attendees were exposed to advanced manufacturing opportunities and products originating from the North State. Dozens of exhibitors were on hand, many with interactive displays, which ranged from robotics to virtual reality. In addition to exhibitor booths, CSU Chico faculty and senior level Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering students facilitated lab tours within the College of Engineering, and attendees could take part in breakout sessions ranging from autonomous robots, to 3D printing, to building an electric skateboard.
The Grow Manufacturing Expo was made possible through the Butte Grow Manufacturing Initiative, along with the Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium (NoRTEC), from over 30 regional advanced manufacturing firms, the California Community College System with support from the Deputy Sector Navigator for Advanced Manufacturing for the Far North, and California State University, Chico.
Submitted by John Schmidt, NFNRC DSN housed at Shasta College.
Click here to read the full article.
Submitted by Teri Munger, NFNRC K-14 TAP housed at Los Rios CCD
The Sacramento Region Celebrates Manufacturing During October & November
Collaborating with Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative (SVMI), the Sacramento region Deputy Sector Navigator (DSN) celebrated Manufacturing Day by organizing open houses, presentations at high schools and student tours of manufacturing plants, as well as presenting to elected officials and getting resolutions passed supporting manufacturing throughout October and November. Additionally, the DSN collaborated with other education partners during November to better prepare students for employment.
Manufacturing Open Houses
Ceronix Inc. (https://www.ceronix.com/), opened its Auburn, CA facilities to the public on October 5, 2018 kicking off Manufacturing Day and activities in the Sacramento region supported by SVMI and the DSN. Ceronix manufactures monitors and circuit boards that are used worldwide for gaming, lotteries and automated score keeping among other uses.
Similarly, Sacramento’s Siemens Mobility (https://w3.usa.siemens.com/mobility/us/en/pages/siemens-mobility.aspx ) welcomed the public on October 11, demonstrating how the operations provide efficient and integrated rail and road transportation. On October 19, Pacific Coast Producers (https://pacificcoastproducers.com/), an Agricultural Cooperative specializing in canning fruits and tomatoes for private brands throughout the world, opened its doors in Woodland to those interested in learning more about manufacturing.
High School Presentations
Seven manufacturers went to nine high schools and described manufacturing career opportunities to 14 classes reaching over 400 students during October. To prepare volunteers from manufacturing firms, Tri Tool, (https://tritool.com/) the world’s premier precision and portable machine tool manufacturer, hosted training in Rancho Cordova. Volunteers were provided with sample talking points and a PowerPoint presentation that they could modify as needed when visiting classes.
SVMI’s October 17 newsletter reported that Michelle Stofan, vice president of Garner Products, (https://garnerproducts.com) a world leader in manufacturing data elimination equipment, spoke to Rocklin High School students for over 45 minutes. “I had a great group of students who were very interested in what I had to say,” said Stofan. “I brought my PD-5 and SSD-1 physical destroyers to show them. The minute it went on the table, I had students asking me questions and fully engaged.”
In addition to attending the Valley High School Career Fair in Elk Grove, Kevin McGrew, Siemens Mobility, Inc. explained that he brought a team of younger manufacturing experts from Siemens to Laguna Creek (LCHS) and Florin high schools to explain what they did on the job and how their careers evolved. “I presented a general overview of what Siemens makes and the manufacturing process,” said McGrew. “We really enjoyed it and we think the students did, too.”
Bill Giovannetti, Sector Coach, Elk Grove Unified School District, attended the LCHS event. “It is great to have Siemens experts demonstrate the broad array of skills necessary to build high tech equipment like their trains,” said Giovannetti.
On November 29, a similar event was coordinated with members of SVMI and held at John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento.
Public Agency Support
Members of SVMI and the DSN were successful in getting resolutions passed in support of manufacturing in the cities such as Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Woodland, Sacramento and Yuba City as well as Sacramento and Yolo counties during October.
New CNC Machining Course Started
Also in October, four journeymen level machinists representing four manufacturing companies with SVMI and the DSN designed CNC curriculum and held the first operator training course that started on October 29 at the Sierra College Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing by Design. The six week intensive training will continue through December and deliver over 60 hours of practical skills training to prepare the participants for entry level employment.
Update Manufacturing Assessment
In November, Mike Bell, DSN, collaborated with representatives from the California Department of Education, Titans of CNC (https://www.titanamericamfg.com) based in Rocklin, Rocklin High School, John F. Kennedy High School and Sonora High School in reviewing the high school exit assessment in manufacturing. According to Bell, the group developed 30 new questions for the manufacturing assessment. “Some of the questions were outdated,” said Bell. “With industry using computer numerical control (CNC) machining extensively, the assessment needed to be refreshed to reflect current practices.”
MakerMatic Mentor
As a mentor for the CCC Maker MakerMatic project, Mike Bell, DSN, provided advice to Sacramento City College student interns who were using the design thinking process to develop new product concepts for a manufacturing company. The California Community College Chancellor’s Office’s CCC Maker (https://cccmaker.com) initiative is supporting 24 college makerspaces across the state and piloting a cohort internship approach based in a makerspace. Students were presented with a challenge by an employer and worked as a team to develop a solution. Through a 20 hour internship held over seven sessions, students ideate, research, consider prototypes and prepare a persuasive presentation made to a panel of business representatives. “I met with students before their presentation to make suggestions,” said Bell. “As part of the industry panel, I was impressed with the students’ thoughtful efforts to innovate new products that would meet market demand.”
