CAAT's 2018 Accomplishments and Activities
2018 saw the CAAT transition to a NSF ATE Resource Center. Our primary
mission continues to be the development of a prepared technical workforce
for the advanced automotive industry, a critical initiative to continued
national economic growth. To this end, we engage with stakeholders in
education, business and the community to proactively address the emerging
and growing hiring and educational needs of the automotive industry. CAAT
was also awarded supplemental NSF funding to continue its work with industry
and educational partners to create curriculum related to connected/automated
vehicles and cybersecurity, attend and present at important automotive and
educational conferences and events, and mentor and collaborate with other
ATE Centers to ensure that technicians are prepared for automotive
cybersecurity, automotive infrastructure, materials technology, etc.
Technician Curriculum Development
Developed and enrolled students in two new technician degree programs
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To equip students with mechanical, electronic, and software skills for
product development in electrified and automated/connected vehicles and
experimental vehicle testing
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Two seed-funded courses approved for inclusion in the VDT program:
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AUTO 2000
– Connected, Automated, and Intelligent Vehicles
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ELEC 2310
– Vehicle Experimental Testing
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Develop your leadership, problem-solving and communication skills as a
Production Supervisor while earning your associates degree
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Professional Development
Offered professional development opportunities that were attended by more
than 400 automotive educators
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STEM Outreach to Middle and High School Students and Parents
Provided STEM outreach opportunities to more than 7,000 middle and high
school students and parents
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Conducted in-classroom STEM labs in 15 middle school classrooms for
approximately 2,700 students
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Updated
in-classroom STEM labs
to reflect the new standards of teaching science
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Developed a new
STEM lab, Mini Marshmallow Shooters, and a new STEM Lab for Career
Classes
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Modified
Career Exploration Labs
for 9th and 10th grade students, debuted the program at Macomb's
Career Exploration Days (March, 40 students)
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Contributor at
Michigan STEM Partnership's Southeast Michigan STEM Alliance
(March)
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Participated in the
Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program
(DAPCEP) STEM Day and the Detroit Science Center (April, 1,000 students)
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Sponsored
Hybrid Electric Vehicle Summer Academy
for high school students (June, 15 students)
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Conducted two
Career Exploration Labs
in conjunction with Macomb's College for Kids program, (July &, August,
8 students)
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Participated in
Connect with Careers
event (August)
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Provided hovercraft STEM lab at Middle School Days at Macomb Community
College (March, 250 students)
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Offered
Auto STEAM Days
event attended by middle and high school students from area secondary
schools (December)
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Sponsored
Exploring Careers in Manufacturing and Technology
event attended by middle and high school students/parents (December)
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Educational Leadership
Participated in various opportunities to engage with leading educational
organizations to further the education of technicians and engineering
technologists in advanced automotive technologies
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Industry Engagement
Attended important industry events to keep the CAAT on top of the expanding
workforce needs of the automotive industry
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Marketing and Communications
Maintained website for students, educators, and industry representatives
that was visited more than 45,000 times by more than 36,000 unique visitors
- The website had more than 175,000 pageviews this year
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Added a new
Automotive Cybersecurity
page to the CAAT website
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Added 58 new resources to the
CAAT's free library, from which more than 1,800 resources were downloaded
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Created a
new brochure
for the CAAT
- Provided 1,700 social media posts to more than 1,000 followers
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CAAT Director mentioned in Automotive News article “
Fixed on the Future” (February)
Developed ten CAAT Tracks newsletters distributed to 1,500 subscribers
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