In a recent interview on Baltimore NPR station WYPR, Potomac President and CEO, Mike Adelstein, explained how partnerships with organizations in the Baltimore area have contributed to our success.

 

Creating the Jobs of the Future
Mike emphasized that our working relationships with both educational institutions and informal making programs have helped us train workers here and now for the advanced manufacturing jobs of the future.  Potomac collaborates with the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the Community College of Baltimore County [CCBC], Johns Hopkins University and other schools in the region.  However, making programs in fab labs and maker spaces are also important, especially since we use the fabrication tools of the new digital economy such as laser cutting and 3D Printing extensively in our factory. 

 

Through a unique paid student internship program, Mike says, “the Fab Lab at CCBC has proven to be a funnel for our workforce.”  Students at CCBC have learned many of the basic machine skills, and at Potomac we are able to add to their education with real-world application, adding topics such as quality control, measurement and customer service.  Since the students are starting with a strong skill set, we are able to get new hires up to speed more quickly.  It’s a win-win for the students, CCBC and Potomac! Soon Potomac plans to partner with the new Open Works fab lab in Baltimore, bringing an advanced manufacturing program to the inner city.

 

Collaborative Research
Potomac’s Education Manufacturing Initiative has also allowed us to collaborate and invest in advanced manufacturing with colleges, universities and institutions in the Baltimore area and beyond.  Helping propel research forward with our expertise is gratifying work.  We recently helped a group of researchers in Canada get a CubeSat into space and have worked on an innovative microfluidics project for the New Jersey Institute of Technology.  Stanford, MIT, UMBC, UC Berkeley, and many other schools have collaborated with us and the list is growing.

 

Working together, we can all do so much more than one can alone.  The impact on the world is then exponential!

 

You can hear the complete clip on the WYPR website