Fayetteville Technical Community College Helps Advance Economic Development
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Learning by doing. It’s the best way to acquire any new skill. Fayetteville Technical Community College is taking that idea to a whole new level with its Advanced Visualization and Interactive Design Center.
The center’s Simulation Modeling Technician program, also known as the Interactive 3D (i3D) program, is the only one of its kind in the country, according to Bob Ervin, vice president of learning technologies at FTCC. The mission of the center is “advanced visualization for learning and workforce and economic development.”
The center focuses on three areas: training students to become simulation modeling technicians; creating interactive objects for other collegiate disciplines to use in training their respective students; and creating models for businesses to use in workforce training and development.
The program, which is housed in the Virtual College, started in mid-2008 and is the brainchild of FTCC President Dr. Larry Keen.
“Dr. Keen saw an opportunity to bring visualization into our state,” Ervin says. “He saw this as a possibility of getting students more engaged and changing the way we train the workforce.”
The program currently consists of four courses and a capstone project.
“Students learn basic modeling, drafting, geographic information systems and programming languages to tie models together and turn them into interactive models,” Ervin says.
Students in other disciplines, however, also benefit from the work of the i3D program. Students in fields such as criminal justice, dental hygiene, radiography and nursing can work on simulated models created at the center.
For example, these students might use a simulated head that they can rotate and manipulate, even “removing” layers of skin. Students can also access these models over the Web and study them at home. The i3D department has simultaneously worked on 39 simulation projects for faculty members in diverse fields.
The program’s reach is not limited to FTCC. As a global center of excellence, Interactive 3D has created models for schools in other states and in countries such as Great Britain and Romania.
Not only does the center train students for today’s high-tech world, it also plays a big part in attracting new businesses to the area.
“We’re reaching out to 11 counties around us to help them attract business and industry to the region,” Ervin says.
The program has created models for regional and national companies such as Goodyear, Spirit Air Systems, Sumatsu and Immersion Media. In one project for Goodyear, for example, FTCC created a simulated hydraulics system to help new employees understand the flow of liquid through pipes.
Ervin says FTCC is a natural location for this unique program because it’s near Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base.
“FTCC has always been known as an innovative college,” Ervin says. “We were the first in the state to offer online courses, for example. We’ve led the state in technological innovation. We hope this is going to transform our community.”
Story by Kimberly Daly
