CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
30 August 2013
Company News
Siemens and Middle Tennessee State establish Mechatronics Certification Program
A partnership between Middle Tennessee State University and Siemens AG from Germany has made the mechatronics department first of a four year university program in the nation to offer its engineering students a level three certification from the company.
“The goal is to train the ideal engineer,” said Ahad Nasab, a mechanical engineering professor. Nasab is heading up the program that is set to start classes toward the certification in the spring 2014. He recently returned from Germany where he met with leaders from Siemens to discuss the new program. Nasab will provide feedback to the company, and later determine whether it will work for other four-year schools.
The Siemens level three certification gives students the title of mechatronic systems professionals as opposed to an assistant or associate, which are the e first two levels.
The new courses will be geared to educate students toward passing the certification exam, but they will not be required to take it. However, with the level three certification, graduates will be given greater opportunities around the world. “People from China to Brazil know what that means,” Nasab said, referring to the certification.
Mechatronics is a combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, controls and computer programming applied to the designing of a system instead of being used individually. Other schools offer a mechatronics degree, but MTSU is the only one to offer a mechatronics engineering program and have a relationship with Siemens.
“The difference between our program and other schools is ours is industry driven,” Nasab said. With the new Siemens directive the whole program is going to be based on a systems approach. Instead of purely teaching theory, students are taught how to apply mechatronics to real-life industry situations and use it to build robotics and machinery. “Every course is going to start with a system and then they will learn how it is used,” Nasab said. “The engineering industry as a whole uses this theory now.”
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