HARRISBURG – On Tuesday Gov. Tom Wolf announced the opening of a new fellowship program through his Manufacturing PA Initiative.
It’s designed to partner Pennsylvania’s best and brightest undergraduate and graduate students with local manufacturers to develop new technologies and advance innovation statewide.
“While exploring all the ways in which we could advance technology and innovation in the manufacturing sector, we realized that some of our best resources are the minds and enthusiasm of our students,” Wolf said.
“By helping connect these students with manufacturers and giving them a real-world application for their research, we’re giving manufacturing companies greater ability to harness young talent to develop transformative new processes and technology.”
The fellowship program will embed student fellows from any accredited Pennsylvania college or university with local manufacturing companies and provide funding for research projects designed to develop new products or processes for that company.
Universities that have partnered with a manufacturer can apply for and receive between $25,000 and $70,000 in funding for specific student research projects.
The fellowship was developed through collaboration with Pennsylvania’s seven research institutions, manufacturers and industrial resource centers (IRCs) across the commonwealth. It will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Universities can now submit ideas for projects at manufacturingpa.org. Project proposals are due by June 12, with award notices for selected projects expected to be issued by end of July.
The Manufacturing Innovation Program is one of three components of Wolf’s Manufacturing PA initiative launched in October of 2017. This initiative ensures that training leads not simply to any job, but to careers that provide higher pay and opportunities for advancement and build a 21st century workforce.
Wolf has made connecting students with career pathways a top priority of his administration. In addition to Manufacturing PA, the governor’s PAsmart proposal calls for a $40 million increase in developing 21st century jobs and skills, which will enhance Career and Technical Education programs and in-demand career pathways, promote employer engagement in postsecondary education, and enhance computer science education at all levels.
