Honda is also developing the manufacturing workforce of the future at the college level as we work to support Innovative Instruction.
Honda partners with six community and technical colleges in central Ohio, five community and technical colleges in Alabama and one community and technical college in Indiana.
For example, Honda and the faculty of Columbus State Community College in Central Ohio worked together to provide courses to train students to be ready for a career in manufacturing.
In Ohio, Honda annually funds 12 new scholarships of $2,500 each for students pursuing degrees in manufacturing or mechanical engineering technology from local two-year colleges.
Honda offers a work-study pilot program that was developed in partnership with Columbus State. This program gives students the chance to develop technical skills while earning their degrees. Students work at an Ohio Honda facility three days a week and attend school on the other two days, which provides students the opportunity to graduate debt free.
Also in Ohio, Honda partnered with the State to create mobile ‘Fab Labs’ for high schools, allowing students to get hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies such as 3-D printers and laser cutters.
The Honda and Ohio State Partnership is also valuable to engaging our future workforce. During the 20-year partnership, Honda has donated more than $28 million to fund research and has benefited in many ways, from recruiting to research.
Honda has done a great deal of research with Ohio State, through labs and centers like the Driving Simulation Lab, the Simulation Innovation & Modeling Center, and the Center for Design & Manufacturing Excellence, which Honda helped establish at Ohio State..
Because of this rich partnership, Honda supports over 25 individual Ohio State University Senior Capstone project teams each year. A capstone is an integrative, final learning experience for students, allowing them to combine the skills and knowledge gained throughout their education into a real-life project. Ohio State students involved in these projects – in both engineering and business – bring fresh eyes and ideas to issues seen across the company in the hopes of gaining some real-world experience. Recent projects have covered process improvement, prototypes, analytics, design and more.
For more information about The Honda and Ohio State Partnership CLICK HERE.