CENTURY COLLEGE
An In-Depth
Look at Century
College’s
Advanced
Technology
Center
I
n May 2018, the Minnesota State
Legislature approved a $6.4 million
bonding bill to fund an Engineering
and Applied Technology Center at
Century College.
This was certainly welcoming news
for Century College and the East
Metro. The college has begun the
process to create a state-of-the-art
center, which will be known as the
Advanced Technology Center. Now,
Century College would like to take the
opportunity to give the community a
closer look.
“It’s a very ambitious project for Century
College,” said Scott Simenson, former
faculty/director of the Fab Lab who
will spearhead this project with many
internal and external stakeholders. “This
Center will position Century College to
meet business and industry needs now
and well into the future.”
Photo courtesy of Century College.
MEETING LABOR
DEMANDS IN A
CHANGING WORLD
It comes as no surprise that developing
an Engineering and Applied Technology
Center has been a top priority for
Century College since 2014. In the
world of manufacturing, technology
is evolving rapidly. Factories are
implementing computer-based design/
simulation, 3D printing, and complex
automated systems.
“These are very contemporary systems
that organizations are beginning to
use,” said Simenson. “They need a
workforce that’s trained in these areas.”
The Advanced Technology Center
will focus largely on medical device
manufacturing, while also allowing the
college to develop a variety of STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math) programs to address critical
workforce needs. The Advanced Technology Center will
permit Century College to develop
curriculum in emerging fields such
as robotics, biofabrication, artificial
intelligence, and virtual and augmented
reality. It will contain a new welding
laboratory, which will allow for advanced
welding (including robotic welding).
“This multidisciplinary center will keep
Century College on the cutting edge
of technology and manufacturing,”
said President Angelia Millender. “It
will enable us to further our mission to
inspire, prepare, and empower students
to succeed in a changing world.” For an industry that’s constantly in a
state of flux, it seems inevitable that the
Advanced Technology Center would
soon become out of date. With that
considered, Century College planned
for the future.
The facility was designed not only to
meet short-term needs, but to prepare
for long-term development. It was built
to be flexible and allow for Century
College to develop future programs
that don’t even have occupational
titles yet.
HELPING REVOLUTIONIZE
MEDICINE
A key focus area for the Advanced
Technology Center is medical device
manufacturing. This is a particularly
high-demand industry in Minnesota,
where over 900 companies are
designated as medical device
manufacturing organizations. The Twin
Cities metropolitan area, also known
as “Medical Alley,” has the highest
density of medical device jobs in the
United States by far.
“Given the growth of this industry in
the region, we believe it’s important
that we begin to address these worker
challenges,” said Simenson.
In partnership with the University of
Minnesota, Century College is also
developing a program in bioprinting,
a 3D printing process that uses human
cells and other biomaterials to create
living tissue.
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