UNI’s modernized Applied Engineering Building readies for students
Thanks to $40.5 million of state funding and additional fundraising paving the way for four years of construction, UNI’s Applied Engineering Building (AEB) is ready to welcome students after spring break.
The AEB houses the UNI Department of Applied Engineering & Technical Management, which educates students for technical project management, manufacturing, engineering technology, construction management, graphics and technology education fields — among the highest-need sectors in Iowa. Several of these industries are facing a talent shortage with an aging workforce that will retire in the coming years, leaving critical openings that will require thousands of skilled workers.
The department is recognized for its leading role in meeting workforce needs in Iowa and beyond. Thanks to generous support, the Applied Engineering Building can keep pace with modern curricular and industry needs. Pending Board of Regents approval, UNI will also add a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology to its lineup of engineering degrees.
Industry has changed greatly in the 50 years since the AEB was first constructed. Built in 1974 to educate shop teachers, the expanded facility now includes the space required for computer classrooms and laboratories in which UNI students can work collaboratively on real-world projects with industry-standard technology. Following the modernization, the size of the facility will increase by nearly 50%.
“We really wanted the entire building to look and feel like a classroom,” Mike Zwanziger, UNI assistant vice president and director of facilities, explained on a recent media tour of the facility. “We have a lot of wiring throughout the building that is labeled so the students can see how everything is put together. We also wanted to take into consideration the technologies of tomorrow by having the 3D printer and other tools.”
Photo Credit: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
The improvements to the Applied Engineering Building are especially meaningful for students who will go into these high demand fields in the Iowa workforce.