Addressing employer demand for highly-skilled workers and Vermonters’ demand for education in cutting-edge technologies, Vermont State University will offer a new 3D Technology Certificate program in 2024.
The certificate program will provide training in a range of cutting-edge 3D technologies, and prepare Vermonters for the rapidly expanding pool of professions adopting 3D applications. The program includes three courses – 3D imaging, 3D modeling, and 3D printing – that can be taken in any order and that will provide a comprehensive perspective on 3D technology. Courses are being taught from the Castleton, Lyndon, and Randolph campuses of Vermont State University, and will soon be available to both traditional college students and working professionals across the state via hybrid learning.
The 3D Technology Certificate program builds on state-of-art technology and skills found throughout the new Vermont State University, and constitutes a new partnership among the Randolph campus Engineering program, the Animation and Illustration program in Lyndon, and the Anthropology, Archaeology, and Geography program on the Castleton campus.
“This is an amazing opportunity for Vermonters to acquire some of the most in-demand skills on the job market today. The multidisciplinary and hybrid nature of the programs assures that training will be accessible to the widest possible audience,” said Matthew Moriarty, an Assistant Professor of Archaeology who also coordinates the 3D program.
In conjunction with the new program, VTSU is launching a six-week residential program in 3D technology for high school students that will be offered this summer. The camp will run in three two-week sessions from June 23rd to August 2nd on the VTSU-Randolph campus. Each session will provide an intensive 3-credit college course for up to 20 rising juniors, seniors, and 2024 high school graduates. Most importantly, eligible Vermont students will be eligible to participate in the summer program free of charge.
The 3D program and summer camp are made possible by a special appropriation of the legislature in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget (2023 Act 78 Sec. B.1101(c)2).
The funding was championed by the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to further their efforts to address critical employer needs for highly-skilled workers. Representative Michael Marcotte, chair of the committee, notes, “developing skills in advanced 3D technology will be critical to Vermonters entering a variety of fields and preparing them for the rapidly expanding pool of professions adopting 3D applications, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, real estate, gaming, construction, and more. We see this as an opportunity to provide high school students with an onramp to an emerging field as well as to provide current and adult learners cutting-edge skills in advanced technologies.”
David Bergh, Interim President of Vermont State University, expresses appreciation for the state’s support for this initiative. “We are incredibly grateful to the Vermont legislature for supporting this initiative and for having the vision to see the long-term benefits our state will reap by providing this training to learners of every age. This new program and the summer camp will help position Vermonters to embrace a wide range of new career possibilities and we are excited to offer them across Vermont State University.”
Applications for the 3D Technology Summer Camp are available now on the VTSU summer camps website: https://vermontstate.edu/youth-camps-at-vermont-state/ and here: https://vermontstatecolleges.formstack.com/forms/3d_camp_2024.
