I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

This week's edition focuses almost entirely on young people. This in itself is quite a feat as not long ago, there were no young people coming into this industry. Now, we have a small but steady stream of young folks entering the industry, and we’re focusing on providing them with the latest training and education. Our industry, for a variety of reasons, is now attractive to people born in this millennium. Didn’t see that coming!

Without further ado, enjoy this week’s Top Five Must-Reads.

PCB Carolina 2023 Breaks Attendance, Exhibitor Records
Published November 9

It was bound to happen, and this year, PCB Carolina’s exhibits expanded into the classrooms in NC State’s MacKimmon Center. The number of attendees approached 1,200 this year, with about 100 fresh-faced EE students mingling with the industry elders and picking up bags of booth swag. Next year’s event is going to be off the chain, as the kids say.

Meet the New Workforce at IPS
Published November 6

Speaking of young people, Barry Matties brings us a feature with a variety of interviews with young technologists and their mentors at IPS in Cedar City, Utah. As Mike Brask explains, young people’s optimism can be infectious throughout the company. It’s nice to see all these young folks discovering this industry now. It’s a sign our industry is becoming cool again.

A Unique Engineering Space in Mankato
Published November 9

Nolan Johnson has an interview with Associate Professor Rob Sleezer of Minnesota State University’s Twin City Engineering school. As Rob says, this non-traditional two-year school focuses on multiple domains of engineering, graduating technologists who have a well-rounded view of the engineering world.

The New Chapter: Reimagining PCB Design in Education
Published November 6

Not long ago, there were only a handful of PCB design classes at colleges and universities. But that’s changing—slowly, but surely. Columnist Hannah Nelson brings us a column on the expansion of PCB design education offerings at colleges in the U.S. Not long out of college herself, Hannah offers a variety of suggestions to help make these classes more attractive to smart young people.

Smart Factory Insights: Today’s Manufacturing Jobs Require a New Skill Set
Published November 10

There’s been a lot of talk about Smart processes over the past five years or so. But what does it take to train technologists to work in this new arena? Columnist Michael Ford explains the challenges of training new employees in Smart processes, as well as the many benefits. As he points out, this work will never be boring.