According to the U.S. Department of Defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, the U.S. is in a technological and economic race to maintain its manufacturing edge. Advanced digital technologies across engineering and manufacturing must take the U.S. manufacturing ecosystem to the forefront of modernization and the fourth industrial revolution. Among the challenges is a sustained pipeline of on-point, skills-based labor.
The Institute for Digital Enterprise Advancement (IDEA), with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program and in partnership with Auburn University and Victory Solutions, targeted a high-tech niche and workforce gap. Just as computer-aided design advanced manufacturing decades ago, model-based systems engineering affords the promise and delivery of a technical edge to support national security and a robust manufacturing ecosystem.
IDEA has created a replicable, skills-based, work-learn program for community college students that supports imperatives outlined by the DoD and other federal agencies. The Systems Engineering Technology (SET) program gives graduates a ready fit into the high-tech role of MBSE modeler.
SET at the community college level results in an associate degree or a SET short certificate. Upskilling courses for professionals and initiatives introducing systems thinking to high school students are also offered under the SET Academy umbrella.