Operations Showcase at VORA with Butler Tech & Miami University
Following an intriguing and exciting news headline that appeared earlier in 2024 (pictured above), a sizable group of leaders from industry and academia came together on on September 25, 2024 at the former VORA Technology Park in Hamilton, OH to learn - and see - what the advanced Manufacturing Workforce, Development, Research, and Commercialization Hub (The Hub) is all about. This groundbreaking initiative is spearheaded by a collaborative partnership between Butler Tech and Miami University.
Talent continues to be one of the greatest challenges - if not the greatest - faced by employers, especially in the manufacturing industry. The stigma around the industry AND "not going to college" continues in the USA, but Butler Tech and Miami University have decided to take things in hand and "disrupt the assembly line model of public education." They are calling it "The Education Revolution" and we very quickly learned what they meant.
The world of academia, not unlike that of nonprofits and industry, has traditionally been fragmented and siloed. The Hub's goal is to create a new education ecosystem that blurs the lines between academic and training institutions (technical colleges, adult learning programs, universities and high schools), leverages the synergies that exist with certain nonprofits (the EACC, Ohio Means Jobs) and government, AND partners with the businesses needing and seeking new talent to add to their ranks.
In this particular case, the focus is on advanced manufacturing. The Butler County Manufacturing Hub is a groundbreaking collaboration and initiative spearheaded by Butler Tech and Miami University. Opening in January 2026, the initial 70,000 sq ft that we visited, will be redesigned to house workspaces (cubicles), labs, robotics and industrial machinery.
- Butler Tech high school and adult education students will work alongside Miami University peers, professors and industry professionals
- The space is being designed to foster deeper learning, innovation, and collaboration
- The Hub will offer students unparalleled opportunities to earn diplomas, micro-credentials, certifications, and advanced degrees - catering to each individual's needs
- AND students will gain hands-on experience in state-of-the-art and current automation, engineering, robotics, and advanced manufacturing techniques and processes
Manufacturers understand the importance of innovation, creativity and continuous improvement as the lifeblood of their businesses. Traditional education tends to limit these by their nature. Apprenticeships, which are ubiquitous in Germanic Europe (Germany and Switzerland in particular), have yielded most of the successful CEOs running key businesses there (and here!), yet continue to be misunderstood and largely missing from the options offered to American students. Miami University's Work+ program seeks to bridge this gap, offering their students the opportunity to obtain an associate or bachelor's degree while working and getting their tuition paid.
To learn more about The Hub project and the "Education Revolution", you may reach out to Jon Graft at Butler Tech. To learn more about Work+, contact Pete Haverkos at Miami University.
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