The TechEd Podcast

Apr 16 2024 11
The TechEd Podcast artwork

Bridging the gap between technical education & the workforce 🎙 Hosted by Matt Kirchner, each episode features conversations with leaders who are shaping, innovating and disrupting the future of the skilled workforce and how we inspire and train up students toward those jobs. 

STEM, Career and Technical Education, and Engineering educators - this podcast is for you!

Manufacturing and industrial employers - this podcast is for you, too!

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Competency-Based Learning: A Skills-First Approach to Education - Dr. Doug Jensen - President, Bismarck State College

Apr 16 2024 39 mins  
What if we valued skills and competencies more than degrees? As President of Bismarck State College, Dr. Jensen sees education as an economic investment, where the skills a student has upon graduation are far more important than degrees and certifications.A competency-first approach to higher education requires disrupting the traditional model. In this episode, we talk about the co

How a Bold Vision for Expansion Can Energize an Organization - Tiffany Sanderson, President of Lake Area Technical College

Apr 09 2024 39 mins  
While colleges across the U.S. are worried about declining enrollment, Lake Area Technical College in South Dakota is expanding.President Tiffany Sanderson sees the value in building a vision so big, so bold that other organizations can't help but want to get involved. And in a state like South Dakota that is seeing faster than average population growth, now is the time for ex

Launching a Tech Company: A Startup Guide for Entrepreneurs - Amber Busuttil Mullen, Partner at Bowen Tax Law

Apr 02 2024 41 mins  
Are you a budding entrepreneur with a great business idea? Have you always wanted to start a company in the tech space, but don't know where to start?Get great advice on launching your own tech company as you listen to our conversation with Amber Busuttil Mullen, partner at Bowen Tax Law. Amber has spent her career helping executives in their businesses and knows that tech is

How an Industry-Sponsored Model Drives Enrollment in this Technical Program - Dr. Rod Flanigan, President of North Dakota State College of Science

Mar 26 2024 32 mins  
Funding, filling programs, and finding partners in industry - these are three challenges facing technical colleges across the country. And a great solution to all these challenges: industry-sponsored programs.North Dakota State College of Science has an incredible Diesel Technology program that partners with the biggest brands in agricultural equipment like John Deere, Case, Komats

The Value of Neurodiversity in the Manufacturing Workforce - Peter Rathmann, CEO of Allis Manufacturing

Mar 19 2024 42 mins  
Peter Rathmann is an advocate for neurodiversity in the manufacturing workforce. As CEO of Allis Manufacturing, he's built a culture that gives these individuals the tools for a successful career. As a father, he's seen his own daughter Emma, who has Asperger's Syndrome, find passion in a manufacturing job.Now, Peter joins us on the podcast to shed light on the great

An AI tool to Digitize Drawings and Turn Individual Knowledge into Company Assets - Yushiro Kato, CEO of CADDi

Mar 12 2024 38 mins  
What if your company had a digital library of every single drawing, from the newest designs to 100-year-old hand-drawn copies for parts still in use? What if this digital file system was powered by artificial intelligence and could read not just the text on each drawing, but could actually understand all the data (material types, revisions, even identify similar drawings)?That&apos

Data Analytics and AI are Accelerating Medical Research - Dr. Julie Panepinto, Director of the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources at the NIH

Mar 05 2024 44 mins  
What does the future of disease research look like? How can artificial intelligence help researchers make new discoveries faster? How can medical professionals synthesize the vast amounts of patient data to offer the best, most personalized care possibleThese are some of the questions we explore with Dr. Julie Panepinto, who leads the National Institutes of Health's Division o

Why STEM Can Future-Proof Private Universities Against the Enrollment Cliff - Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, President of Augustana University

Feb 27 2024 46 mins  
Higher education is facing an enrollment cliff. Or, as Augustana University President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin puts it, a "consumption cliff." Not only are there fewer students for universities to recruit, there are also fewer students even considering enrolling in post-secondary education.In this episode, we discuss some of the ways private universities can hedge agains

Developing an AI Strategy: Best Practices for Business Leaders - Todd Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture Industries

Feb 19 2024 52 mins  
Get ready to start your AI journey in manufacturing! We sat down with industry visionary Todd Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture Industries, to get his best practices for developing an AI strategy.According to Wanek, businesses have 3-5 years to figure out AI, or get left behind. Fortunately for us, Ashley Furniture - the world's largest furniture manufacturer with 35,000 employee

Holistic Learning: How Aug Prep is Reimagining Urban Education - Abby Andrietsch, CEO of St. Augustine Preparatory Academy

Feb 13 2024 59 mins  
How can we better serve students in a city like Milwaukee, where 50% of students attend mediocre or failing schools, and only 65% of students even graduate high school? This data isn't anomalous; urban regions across the U.S. are failing our students, creating systems lacking in hope and opportunity for our kids.One school in Milwaukee has found tremendous success by taking a