Index
11 May 2009
Industry partnership boosts automation training
The SAGE Didactic training platform.
RMIT University and SAGE Didactic have unveiled a new automation training centre on RMIT’s Bundoora campus.
The facility is equipped with SAGE’s Targeted Technology Introduction Modules (TTIM) system and will be used for automation/mechatronics education and training for SAGE engineers and clients in Victoria, as well as the development of work integrated learning programs in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
TTIM won the President’s Award at Engineers Australia’s 2008 Engineering Excellence Awards.
In July 2008, RMIT and SAGE Didactic entered a partnership around the shared goal of “Advancing the technical skills of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce”. The agreement aims to:
- Develop a joint RMIT-SAGE mechatronics and automation training centre at RMIT’s Bundoora campus.
- Jointly develop future training facilities and materials for both organisations, and recognise training courses as work integrated learning elements.
- Develop articulation into undergraduate and postgraduate education programs.
- Exchange of staff members between RMIT and SAGE organisations.
- Apply for industry grants for research, education and community development.
Professor John Mo, Discipline Head, Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, said: “The agreement facilitates extensive engagement between RMIT’s education and training capability and an internationally renowned Australian company.
“Having access to the latest industrial automation technologies will enable RMIT staff to develop internationally reputable laboratories, thereby fostering collaborative research and excellence in teaching,” he said.
“The development of the RMIT-SAGE Automation Training Centre shows RMIT as the learning hub for the latest industrial automation technologies.”
The Centre incorporates RMIT’s mechatronics laboratory equipment, including automation workstations from Festo and instrumentation devices from National Instruments and many other technology providers.
Students will learn through hands-on as well as theoretical approaches so they will be able to handle real industrial situations in the future.
