Ohio University receives RAPIDS grant to focus on simulation equipment, workforce development
The Ohio Department of Higher Education recently awarded nearly $110,000 to Ohio University’s Southern campus and the Russ College of Engineering and Technology to invest in simulation equipment in support of workforce development.
The Regionally Aligned Priorities in Developing Skills (RAPIDS) IV grant aims to make regional strategic investments in Ohio in order to retain and expand existing businesses, attract newer companies, and further entrepreneurship opportunities for communities.
The new simulation equipment will create hands-on experiential learning opportunities for students, helping them develop critical thinking skills that are vital to solving workforce related issues.
“We are grateful to the State of Ohio for again focusing on workforce development with this latest installation of the RAPIDS grant,” Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis said. “This grant will provide students a contemporary learning environment with advanced equipment that will prepare them to enter the labor force.”
This is the fourth award OHIO has received under the RAPIDS initiative and the third time a collaborative project with OHIO Southern and the Russ College was awarded.
OHIO Southern will use the grant to provide a new high-fidelity simulation mannequin and headwall simulator for nursing students to practice with in labs.
With no hospital in Lawrence County and the spring 2020 closure of the hospital nearest to the campus, these clinical labs provide supervised laboratory and independent student practice experience, enabling competence and mastery of undergraduate nursing skills.
“This grant will provide simulated nursing workforce environments as educational and training resources for both students and incumbent workers, allowing us to provide a learning space for our rural, geographically isolated region of Ohio,” said Nicole Pennington, interim executive dean for OHIO Regional Higher Education and dean of OHIO Southern.
Meanwhile, the Russ College will purchase advanced manufacturing and material processing equipment familiar to regional businesses. This will enable engineering technology and management students to gain experience and build their skillsets with relevant technological equipment.
The College also hopes to recruit vocational school students from the region who are interested in engineering technology.
“Students who work with this kind of equipment are more marketable for employment in the region because they’re familiar with modern technologies used in engineering and manufacturing,” Russ College Dean Mei Wei said. “It’s a unique opportunity for students.”
The RAPIDS-funded projects at OHIO are part of a statewide, $8 million dollar initiative designed to drive local and regional partnerships through strategies delivering sustainable, equipment-dependent workplace education, training, and skills.