UT Martin has announced the building of a new engineering facility that will give students and local industry leaders the chance to work together.
The new facility is big enough to accommodate large projects like a small airplane, something that engineering seniors will actually be building for their capstone projects.
But the aim of the new facility isn’t just to give students the space to finish engineering projects, but to give the area the opportunity for industry growth.
Bud Grimes, chief communication officer at UT Martin says the students being able to work side-by-side with local industry leaders will give students the chance for a job, and employers the chance to have a work ready employee
“There are just opportunities here for these industries to basically preflight students in these projects and see them work and see what they can do," Grimes said. "They can have employment ready students when they come out of school.”
According to recent statistics, 85-90% of UT Martin’s engineering graduates stay in the West Tennessee region. Grimes says at the unveiling of the building, a graphic that was shown to local industry leaders made it clear how far they might have to go to get an engineering student that would be workforce ready by graduation.
“Nobody is preparing manufacturing engineers. The only program in the south is the University of Miami, it depends on how you define being in this region, but that’s a long way off to potentially have to look somebody in manufacturing engineering ready to work.”
UT Martin isn’t only encouraging their students to interact with local industry leaders, but to be entrepreneurs, partnering with the Regional Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center and the Northwest Tennessee Entrepreneur Center to encourage students to start their own businesses in West Tennessee after graduation, a plan that could bring multiple new jobs to the region.
