Volkswagen officials last week recognized the achievements of 11 new graduates of the Volkswagen Academy Robotronics Program.
“These graduates have been qualified in a high-level, in-demand profession,” said Burkhard Ulrich, Volkswagen Chattanooga senior vice president of human resources. “As we ramp up Industry 4.0 assembly and continue to electrify our fleet, these new graduates will be assets to our team.”
The ceremony featured guest speakers Charita Allen, director of workforce development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, and Rebecca Ashford, president at Chattanooga State Community College.
Marko Burdeinyi was named valedictorian and delivered a graduation speech.
The recent graduates succeed more than 200 Volkswagen apprentices since 2013. This is the third group to graduate from the Robotronics Technology Expert program, which was implemented in 2018 in response to the continuous increase in automation in manufacturing.
Graduates of the program receive a globally recognized Volkswagen Academy Certificate, an Associate of Applied Science in Mechatronics Technology degree with a Robotronics Certificate from Chattanooga State Community College and a conditional job offer to work for Volkswagen Chattanooga.
The robotronics program is a full-time dual-education program which combines vocational classroom education and paid on-the-job training in one course. The program length is two years.
The curriculum is based on Industry 4.0 advanced manufacturing principles including robotic technologies, engineering design processes, manufacturing technologies, IT network programming, cyber physical systems, troubleshooting and maintenance.
The Volkswagen Academy accepts up to 24 students each year into the program, based on business needs. Applications for the next year’s program open every January. Volkswagen receives about 130 applications every year.
Source: Volkswagen Chattanooga