Florida’s First Coast Manufacturing Innovation Partnership (MIP) began soon after the School of Engineering expanded engineering undergraduate programs from electrical engineering to include mechanical engineering and civil engineering. The program has been developed to provide engineering undergraduate student opportunities in applied research and development engineering projects to create an experiential learning environment to complement their learning in the engineering programs. The MIP Program serves as a catalyst for advanced technology development and high-technology job creation in an area of the nation which has experienced rapid growth. The three primary goals of the MIP Program are:

1. To stimulate transformation of knowledge in design and manufacturing occurring in the academic domain to the applied research and development in the industrial field through project-centered innovations developed using a shared design and manufacturing resource for technology transfer,
2. To develop partnerships with the common goal of producing students whose education satisfies the needs of the regional workforce with a more scientifically and technologically literate workforce trained with relevance to industry including mentorship to attract and retain engineering students for the future, and
3. To implement Florida’s First Coast Manufacturing Innovation Partnership Program for long-term sustainability of technology transfer and creation of high-technology jobs in the engineering manufacturing and design professions.

The students work in teams, primarily on-campus while also visiting the sponsoring organizations. The sponsoring organizations are primarily regional industry and biomedical interests. The students have been compensated by the resources made available from the MIP Program and the partnerships. A liaison engineer from the sponsoring organizations serves as a point of contact for project-driven requirements and information needed by the students on the MIP projects. The liaison engineers also periodically visit campus. A faculty advisor and mentor works with each team on the projects. Thus far 63 MIP students have been involved in 31 MIP projects. Note that this type of work experience is much different than the traditional engineering co-op or engineering internship experience. With a newly initiated Masters Program in engineering, opportunities for graduate students are emerging in the MIP Program. While most projects have remained well-grounded to serve in regional industry and industrial sponsorship, some projects have incorporated national and international outreach with federally funded sponsorship. The underlying characteristics remain consistent, to provide the engineering students experiential learning opportunities for applied research and development in teaming projects to supplement their academic education. Satisfying the goals above encompasses intellectual merit and broader impacts as discussed below.

For goal number 1, partnerships have been created in the region with 21 total entities through project-centered innovations developed using a shared design and manufacturing resource at UNF. Of these, 12 are industry partnerships, 4 are government, 2 are academic, 2 are biomedical, and 1 is a service organization. Thirty-one innovative technical projects have been accomplished through the partnerships. Of these 31 projects, 18 are industry projects, 4 are biomedical, 2 are energy, 2 are educational, 2 are defense related, 2 are space applications, and 1 is service profession.

For goal number 2, 63 MIP students have performed the 31 projects producing students whose education satisfies the needs of the regional workforce with a more scientifically and technologically literate workforce trained with relevance to industry through experiential learning. The MIP Program at UNF continues a focus on undergraduate students and research. Of the students, 55 have been undergraduate research assistants while 8 have been graduate research assistants. 48 are mechanical engineers (2 graduate students), 10 are electrical engineers (3 graduate students), 4 are computer science (3 graduate students) and one is a biology pre-med student. The MIP Program has additionally engaged in pre-college mentoring projects performed by MIP students.

For goal number 3, the long-term sustainability of technology transfer and creation of high-technology jobs, of the 63 MIP students, 4 are current students. The rest have graduated with 23 pursuing careers in industry, primarily within the region, 8 went on to attend graduate school including UNF and elsewhere, 1 went to the biomedical field, 2 to the energy sector, 5 are active duty military, 2 are civilian federal employees, and 1 entered the service industry. Nine entered the private sector with 8 other unknown upon graduation. In addition to the student careers indicated above, the students received valuable experience in disseminating technical results through peer-reviewed publications. Sixty-one technical publications, including 5 journal publications, have had 31 undergraduate student co-authorships with 2 best paper awards authored by undergraduate research assistants. Seven graduate student co-authorships have also occurred. The initial manufacturing innovation line of research continues through sponsorship with regional industry while four additional lines of sponsored research in biomedical, bionics and robotics, space applications, and remote laboratory control have spun out of the MIP Program effort at UNF with collaborations extending from the region, to the nation, and internationally to experience German engineering practices.

Last Modified: 09/27/2011
Modified by: Daniel J Cox