明尼苏达州Alexandria技术与社区学院获246.7万美元联邦拨款：建先进制造职业通道与创新中心
位于明尼苏达州道格拉斯县Alexandria市的Alexandria Technical & Community College（ATCC）11月2日宣布，该校获得2,467,008美元联邦拨款，将建设Runestone先进制造职业通道与创新中心（Runestone Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathways & Innovation Hub），把高中、大学项目与地区雇主连成一条从教育到就业的通道。
这笔钱来自美国教育部「高等教育改进基金」（FIPSE）旗下的农村高等教育与经济发展项目（RPED），项目为期四年，拨款期自2026年10月1日起至2030年。合作方是Runestone地区教育区（RAED）的五所高中：Alexandria、Brandon-Evansville、Minnewaska、Osakis和Parkers Prairie，以及多家地区雇主。高中生可以提前探索先进制造职业、通过双修与同步入学修大学学分、累积可叠加的证书，并参加基于工作的学习，走向自动化、机器人、机电一体化、电子技术和工业维修等高技能、高薪岗位。
创新中心的实体空间将利用现有校园资产：柴油机械项目2027年秋季迁入新落成的Central Specialties交通中心后，腾出的8,000平方英尺空间将被改造成先进制造通道与创新的专门场所。ATCC校长Michael Seymour说，这一中心是对明尼苏达州中西部未来劳动力的重要投资，把既有校舍改造成先进制造的「中间学院」，既给学生新机会，也强化地区雇主依赖的人才管道。
ATCC学术与学生事务副校长Sara Fier说，这笔拨款对学生、学校伙伴和整个地区都是变革性的机会，能让农村学生更早探索有回报的职业、在高中阶段就修得大学学分，再顺畅进入紧缺的技术项目与岗位。Alexandria公立学校学监Rick Sansted表示，这笔拨款把K-12教育、高等教育和地区雇主直接连了起来；Brenton Engineering副总裁兼总经理John French说，先进制造的未来取决于能驾驭日益精密技术的人才，该公司为支持这项投资感到自豪。
Alexandria Technical & Community College新闻稿（英文）
Alexandria Technical & Community College Wins $2.47 Million Federal Grant for Advanced Manufacturing Hub
Alexandria Technical & Community College (ATCC), in Alexandria, Douglas County, Minnesota, announced on November 2 that it has been awarded a $2,467,008 federal grant to establish the Runestone Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathways & Innovation Hub, creating a seamless education-to-career pathway connecting high school students, college programs and regional employers.
The grant comes through the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development (RPED) Program. The four-year project runs from October 1, 2026, through 2030. Partners include the five Runestone Area Education District (RAED) high schools, Alexandria, Brandon-Evansville, Minnewaska, Osakis and Parkers Prairie, along with regional employers. Students will explore advanced manufacturing careers, earn college credit through dual and concurrent enrollment, stack credentials and take part in work-based learning in fields such as automation, robotics, mechatronics, electronic technology and industrial maintenance.
The physical hub will reuse an existing campus asset: when the Diesel Mechanics program moves into the new Central Specialties Transportation Center in fall 2027, its vacated 8,000-square-foot space will be renovated into a dedicated hub for advanced manufacturing pathways and innovation. "The Innovation Hub represents a significant investment in the future workforce of west central Minnesota," said ATCC President Michael Seymour, adding that the project turns the space into a middle college for advanced manufacturing while strengthening the talent pipeline regional employers depend on.
Sara Fier, ATCC's vice president of academic and student affairs, called the award a transformative opportunity that will help rural students explore rewarding careers earlier, earn college credit while in high school and transition smoothly into in-demand technical programs. Alexandria Public Schools Superintendent Rick Sansted said the grant bridges K-12 education, higher education and direct connections to regional employers, and John French, vice president and general manager of Brenton Engineering, said the future of advanced manufacturing depends on talented people ready to work with increasingly sophisticated technology.
Alexandria Technical & Community College news release
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：Alexandria Technical & Community College校园（资料图）。LittleT889 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Alexandria Technical & Community College campus (file photo). Photo by LittleT889, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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