Northwest Tech Receives Emergency Generator Grant
Northwest Tech recently received a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for $25,000 to help fund an emergency generator system for the college’s Memorial Union. The college applied for the grant after recognizing the need for backup electrical service on campus in case of an emergency.
Northwest Tech Opens Engineering Program to High School Juniors and Seniors
High school juniors and seniors in the greater Goodland area will now have the opportunity to complete a technical certificate or associates degree at the same time they earn their high school diploma. Starting in August 2019, high school students will be able to enroll in the half-day Engineering and Drafting Technology program on the Goodland campus.
Northwest Tech Launches New Quinter Location
Starting in August 2019, Northwest Tech will open a new branch location in Quinter, Kansas where high school juniors and seniors from around the area will have the opportunity to earn a technical certificate or degree in Welding Technology.
Northwest Tech Hosts 8th Annual Haunted House
Goodland, KS. (10/23/2018) – It’s one of the most exciting projects of the year for most of the Northwest Tech Engineering students who volunteer, plan, and set up a haunted house for the Goodland community. The idea came from students over eight years ago to use their creative and mechanical abilities to create a spooky evening event for community members.
“It’s an opportunity for students to learn to work together,” said Engineering Instructor, Mike Zimmerman.
The Engineering program was able to upgrade their materials and equipment this year because the Sherman County Community Foundation stepped in with a generous donation. The students were thrilled.
“Our students are very inventive, so it will be a creative experience,” Zimmerman said. “Students are using the skills they have acquired from our Engineering program and putting them to use to really make the haunted house a well put together, scary experience.”
Everyone is invited to come out and experience the haunted house. It will be hosted at the Sherman County Fairgrounds on October 26th, 27th, and 31st from 6pm-9pm each night. There will also be a “children’s version” of the haunted house on October 31st from 5:30-6:00pm. Admission is $3 per person or 3 cans of food per person. All canned food and money collected will be donated to benefit Genesis of Sherman County.
Northwest Tech Receives Innovative Technology Grant
Goodland, KS. (10/23/2018) – Northwest Tech is pleased to announce it has received a $42,750 Innovative Technology Grant from the Kansas Board of Regents. These funds will support the Auto Body and Repair program and will be used to purchase a virtual reality painting simulation device (SimSpray) that will supplement the learning environment in the Auto Body Repair program.
“We are excited to have access to this technology,” commented Auto Body Repair instructor, William Morris. “Our students will greatly benefit by being able to go through simulations of different methods before heading into the paint booth. This will save a lot of time and money.”
The Auto Body Repair program requires students to experience hands-on learning and real life scenarios in order to prepare them for work in industry. The SimSpray simulator will allow students to solve many body positioning, coating technique, equipment setup, and angle scenarios in a short period of time. Using the traditional method of practice painting makes it difficult for the instructors to provide students with a high variety of circumstances in a short period of time. The SimSpray will allow instructors to isolate certain parts of a structure so students can better understand the concepts. The SimSpray software will also solve the issue of multiple students using the paint booths. Instructors will be able to introduce new methods to their students using the SimSpray before letting them use the spray booth with real materials. This will allow students to create muscle memory and a general sense of a new technique before they enter the paint booth. The SimSpray simulator and software will allow instructors to create interactive auto body scenarios that students will be able to interactively solve onscreen.
The Kansas Board of Regents established the Innovative Technology Grants to award funds to community and technical colleges in Kansas to support innovative technical courses or programs in emerging technologies or areas of skill shortages. The targeted programs for this fund are high growth, high wage and highly skilled occupations with higher than average job vacancy rates or projected growth rates. Successful grant awards must include a strong partnership and alignment with industry.
For more information on the Auto Body Repair program or how to enroll visit our website at www.fhnw.edu or call admissions at 1-800-316-4127.
