Purdue Polytechnic is partnering with a pair of German companies to bolster research into smart manufacturing and elevate industrial and electrical engineering workforce training in a data-driven era.
The collaboration with industrial manufacturer Rittal and engineering software provider Eplan will extend five years, Rittal said a news release.
Initially the partnership will include a number of Eplan software licenses for students and the opening of an Eplan Electrical Engineering Technology Projects Lab in Dudley Hall on the West Lafayette campus. Other plans call for scholarships, internships and joint research and development initiatives.
“Purdue Polytechnic has always sought to prepare new generations for tech-driven industries, and this partnership is the perfect embodiment of that mission,” Purdue Polytechnic Dean Daniel Castro said. “By integrating world-class solutions from Rittal and Eplan into our curriculum, we are going beyond theory. Students will develop the hands-on skills and technological fluency needed to lead.”
Rittal manufactures a host of industrial equipment, including network and server rack enclosures, power distribution components, and climate-control equipment. Eplan provides software and related equipment for electrical, automation and mechatronic engineering. Mechatronic engineering integrates mechanical engineering, electronics, computer science, and control systems to create smart automated systems.
Both companies are part of Germany-based Friedhelm Loh Group, which has 95 subsidiaries worldwide.
Friedhelm Loh Group views the partnership with Purdue as an investment in the U.S. workforce and an opportunity to collaborate on innovative research.
“The U.S. economy has a great opportunity for growth,” Rittal CEO Niko Mohr said in the news release. “A deep understanding of data-driven automation with high-quality data right from the start is the key to unlocking this growth, especially in an era of skilled labor shortages. That domain knowledge forms the basis for the next level: real-life value creation with industrial AI. This partnership is about laying that foundation.”
As part of the partnership, students will develop a capstone project to be displayed in the innovation area of the Rockwell Automation Fair, the global automation convention taking place Nov. 17-20 in Chicago. Rittal and Eplan are sponsoring the project and will bring more than 100 Purdue students to the event, the news release said.
Executives from Rittal and Eplan also will join the Purdue Polytechnic dean’s advisory council.