The National Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing Education (NCE/AME) is a national partnership focused on a customer-driven approach to manufacturing education. The Center, funded in part by the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program, is operated by the Advanced Integrated Manufacturing (AIM) Center, a partnership between Sinclair Community College and the University of Dayton. Through its work, the Center encourages strong customer/supplier relationships between manufacturers and educators. The program is developing interdisciplinary curriculum materials leading to an associate's degree in manufacturing engineering technology and is providing substantial faculty development opportunities for all educators involved in manufacturing-related fields. The program provides students a seamless educational pathway beginning in secondary schools with possibilities to continue to a baccalaureate degree and beyond. Faculty and teachers involved include those from mathematics, science, communications, business, and engineering technology. The competency-based, occupationally-verified approach to the programs' curriculum development activities ensures that the skills acquired by students provides them the knowledge and ability to become quick contributors to the companies that employ them. These curriculum materials emphasize hands-on problem solving activities throughout, enabling participants to build a strong foundation of analytical and problem solving skills required for lifelong learning and technical growth. Faculty and teacher development workshops offer opportunities for high school, community college, and university educators to better understand the technical, analytical, and interpersonal skills required in today's career fields and provide tools for them to integrate these skills into the classroom. The Center's partners include educational institutions throughout the United States; manufacturing employers of all sizes; the Miami Val ley Tech Prep Consortium, other secondary school systems; and teachers; national professional associations, including the Society of Manufacturing Engineers; and local, state, and federal government agencies.
