Micky  Simeone

Staff Writer

Did you know: ISU has a robotics program at our technical college?

The program : Robotics and Communications Systems Engineering

is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET.

The College of Technology is interested in enrolling more woman into this generally male dominated educational interest. The Tech classes here on campus are designed in the “cohort” model.

That means students enter the program as a collective group, which means taking the same classes together at same time from start to graduation, and follow their coursework through to completion. This makes for a more supportive and familiar environment for the students of each cohort. The idea of a new frontier in careers for woman is an important subject.

I decided to investigate our robotics program to see what was all about.

I contacted Tim Leishman,one of the programs instructors and set up a time and day to meet with him.

On the day of our appointment, we took a stroll and had a very informative chat. He took me on a tour of the classrooms and showed me a number of fascinating projects that are done by students as they work towards the completion of their coursework. I was immediately intrigued and impressed with what I was learning about the program.

The environment was very comfortable and seriously enthusiastic. The sights were equally interesting and kept me anxious to see what was around the next corner.

During our conversation, I mentioned to Leishman that I did not see any woman in the classes. He explained that there are only two woman in the current cohort and that the administration is interested in recruiting more women into the program.

He mentioned that there is a wide open market out there just waiting to be tapped in to, with an abundance of opportunities and demand for woman in this field.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), only about 10 percent of the workforce in the field of electronics are woman.

Furthermore the BLS expect that careers in *“STEM” fields will grow by 13 percent across the board through 2022. That 13 percent amounts to roughly one million additional jobs, for an overall number of nine million jobs in the STEM sectors by 2022.

So, if you are a woman attending ISU and have not decided your major yet,maybe looking into the robotics program here on campus will be your deciding factor.