Welding technology students at Ivy Tech Community College’s Valparaiso Campus have assisted with a project request from engineering students at Valparaiso University.
Valparaiso University’s senior design team in the engineering program asked for Ivy Tech’s assistance in one of their student projects. The police department and civil engineering department at Valparaiso University are building a portable trailer-mounted security tower that can be deployed remotely for surveillance purposes.
As the project required professional welding to help create the structure, Ivy Tech’s students were chosen to make it happen. The trailer with security tower will be driven on streets and highways. Ivy Tech instructors Mark Antrim and Doug McKiddy, along with their students, helped bring this design to fruition.
“It’s a wonderful thing when two higher education institutions can work together on something important like this,” said Jennifer Furmanek, dean of Ivy Tech Valparaiso’s school of advanced manufacturing, engineering and applied science. “Both groups of students get to learn more in their fields, and the end result is something practical for Valparaiso University to use.”
Valparaiso University President José D. Padilla, J.D., mentioned how this partnership complements the articulation agreements in support of students looking to transfer into Valparaiso University’s computer science, biology, psychology, chemistry and various engineering programs.
“I look forward to collaborating with Ivy Tech and providing students a seamless transition to Valparaiso University when advancing their degrees,” said Padilla. “This partnership reinforces our region’s efforts in educating and retaining a strong workforce.”
