IACMI – The Composites Institute sponsored 42 students hosted at 17 member and partner locations across the United States. The IACMI Internship Program gives students the opportunity to advance the fourth manufacturing revolution with composites research and innovation, while addressing the growing need to support the advanced manufacturing workforce. IACMI works to close the skills gap to further workforce development at a time where more than half of manufacturing jobs will be left unfilled over the course of the next ten years, due to shifting skillset requirements and a lack of necessary training.
Thought leaders and experts from partner companies, universities, and national laboratories mentored IACMI interns through collaborative research and development projects. Students are integral to advancing composites technical innovations in topic areas such as additive manufacturing (3D printing), robotic systems, and automated integration processes to create solutions supporting manufacturing sustainability and efficiency. Some of the IACMI interns learned from Local Motors, one of IACMI’s small to medium sized member organizations, specializing in low-volume transportation made through additive manufacturing – to prototype autonomous buses with materials testing and systems design for the Olli project. In addition, interns are learned through participating in composite sustainability projects at Vartega, Inc. and the Composites Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) with focus on the environmental impact of recycled composite materials.
The IACMI Internship Program currently has achieved a 100 percent job placement rate for graduated students within six months of graduating from their academic programs. Moreover, the IACMI Intern Class of 2019 is 31 percent female, which is more than double the national average of women in engineering at 15 percent in 2015.