Siemens provides UofSC with technology grant valued at $628 Million

Posted on: June 22, 2017; Updated on: June 22, 2017
By Mike Ettlemyer, email@example.com

Highlights of the Siemens technology grant:

Columbia, S.C. – June, 22, 2017 — Siemens and the University of South Carolina announced today an in-kind grant of Siemens hardware and software with a commercial value of $628 million. As part of this grant, Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) software will be used in the College of Engineering and Computing, and in combination with Siemens automation and controls hardware in a digital factory innovation lab at the college’s McNAIR Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research. By providing students with this hands-on experience on software and hardware across the college’s engineering curriculum and in research programs, Siemens is helping the university further prepare a highly skilled STEM workforce for the advanced manufacturing industry, including the aerospace industry, which has experienced an 11.4 percent employment growth rate in South Carolina since 2010.

“Today’s announcement of a partnership between Siemens and the University of South Carolina advances our state’s growing reputation as a top destination for manufacturing,” said South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. “By demonstrating that South Carolina is home to one of the most highly skilled engineering and manufacturing workforces in the world, we can attract even more companies who have yet to discover what we all already know — that there is no better place to do business than in South Carolina.”

Through the in-kind investment, engineering students at the university will now have access to the same PLM software used by more than 140,000 companies throughout the global manufacturing industry — including 35 in South Carolina — to design, develop and manufacture some of the world’s most sophisticated products in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, medical devices, machinery, shipbuilding and high-tech electronics. They will also have access to Siemens automation and controls hardware, the same type of automation hardware found throughout industry globally, and used to maintain levels of productivity, efficiency, safety, security, flexibility and uptime. This academic partnership is expected to help students compete for jobs throughout the world, and aid in building a workforce equipped with the skills needed for the high tech jobs of tomorrow.

“This partnership with Siemens will position the university among the top universities in the nation for advanced manufacturing education and research,“ says university President Harris Pastides. “We’re proud that our researchers and students at the College of Engineering and Computing, McNAIR aerospace center and the entire university system, will play a role in discovering new manufacturing technologies and will be better prepared to take on the jobs of tomorrow in South Carolina and beyond.”

“In this new era, manufacturers no longer want to just keep up. They are driven to be the trendsetters by being first to market and initiating innovation,” says Raj Batra, president, Siemens Digital Factory Division, U.S.  “Few industrial segments have embraced digitalization and technology more than the aerospace sector. Aerospace companies throughout South Carolina are heavily reliant on automation and digitalization as well as well-trained employees. Our partnership with the University of South Carolina will provide valuable experiential training with both software and hardware, providing the next generation workforce with the skills they need to be successful.  Siemens is proud to help close the skills gap in South Carolina through partnerships with leading edge academic institutions.”

As software plays an increasing role in the next era of manufacturing, this PLM software grant is designed to help students realize their ideas by providing accurate information as the product moves from design to prototype through a streamlined manufacturing process that provides instant feedback and allows product developers to make adjustments. The software will be incorporated across the engineering curriculum in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at the College of Engineering and Computing, as well as being used for senior capstone projects.

With nearly 500 employees in South Carolina, Siemens has an extensive footprint spanning energy management, building technologies, power and gas, health care, and digital factory in the state. The company employs approximately 30 U.S. military veterans in the state and approximately 3,000 U.S. military veterans nationwide.

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