Exploring Clover Park Technical College’s CAMT
At 63,000 square feet and a cost of $33 million, the John W. Walstrum Center for Advanced Manufacturing Technology (CAMT) at Clover Park Technical College stands out among the impressive educational facilities across the state’s 34 community and technical colleges.
The LEED Silver facility provides training for the area’s aerospace, aviation and manufacturing industries, and contains dedicated labs for mechatronics, CNC, non-destructive testing and composites. Add to that state-of-the-art classrooms, informal learning spaces, conference rooms and generous natural light in a central atrium, and Clover Park has a facility to be proud of.
Claire Korschinowski, Ed.D., Dean of Instruction at Clover Park Technical College, oversees the work at the CAMT and offers her unique insight into how CPTC is taking the space to the next level:
We have cohabitated our Mechatronics, Manufacturing Engineering Technologies, Nondestructive Testing, Network Operations Systems Security, Cyber Security, and Computer Programming educational offerings in this building. The intention of co-habiting of programs will create learning environments that will generate industry 4.0 technicians, engineers, managers, and professionals.
Our Industry 4.0 educational initiatives and approaches are designed to prepare individuals for the advancement and challenges brought by the fourth industrial revolution. It encompasses the integration of digital technologies, automation, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things into various industries. Our learning environment fosters mindsets of continuous learning and adaptability as emerging technologies evolve. Individuals learn skills in cyber-physical systems, develop human-machine empathy, and systems thinking.
Last and most important, the outcomes of our work are driven by three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. We focus on people and the development of human capital by fostering inclusivity and accessibility. The Planet by promoting sustainability and eco-friendly practices. And Profit by emphasizing economic growth and prosperity.
The atrium, called the “fifth lab,” allows for open collaboration, demonstrations and displays, with views into the lab spaces available to all who come through the doors.
Officially opened on September 20, 2019, the building is worth a visit. Light and air fill the space, from the exposed steel beams to the double-height ceilings at 35 feet to the 29 skylights throughout. Manufacturing facilities in the 21st century are not the dark and dirty spaces of yesteryear, and the CAMT is unlike classrooms and labs of the past.
The building was named the John W. Walstrum Center for Advanced Manufacturing Technology at the request and approval of the Clover Park Technical College Board of Trustees in January 2018. Dr. Walstrum was the President of Clover Park Technical College from 2007 to 2013.
At the ceremonial groundbreaking for the building in 2018, Clover Park President Dr. Joyce Loveday said, “Our intent and our goal is for this to be not only a place where students are going to school and learning, but also a place where we can interact with industry in a way that raises the level of education for our students and engages us with leading-edge activities within industry.”
Find out more about CAMT’s programs and classes:
