The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), and US Army Devcom AC have formed the public private partnership COMET (Collaborative Operationalized Manufacturing Engineering & Training) focused on advanced manufacturing workforce development and accelerating the adoption of new manufacturing processes. The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) faces a problem of segmentation and isolation where industry, academia, and government often operate separately from each other. COMET is uniting these sectors under one roof to maximize efficiency in innovation and workforce development. In this 20k sqft hybridized facility of 75% manufacturing space and 25% collaborative/office space, students, employees, veterans, and DoD personnel can develop the necessary skills for succeeding in and satisfying the needs of the DIB. COMET, by co-locating all the stakeholders in DIB manufacturing innovation ensures our educational efforts align with concrete needs and we can focus on addressing bottlenecks in the advanced manufacturing pipeline.
- Local Industry: Real world tasks are delivered to students and trainees, and DoD Contractors operate in proximity to Picatinny Arsenal.
- DoD: Picatinny Arsenal is located 10 minutes from COMET, allowing for consistent feedback and collaboration between our facility and the DoD SMEs on base.
- Universities: NJIT and other local universities provide access to students and faculty
- Students: Equipment, courses, and field professionals will be hosted to augment the educational experience, and create a pipeline for direct college-to-industry employment
- Veterans: Certifications and trainings are offered to provide an on-ramp from enlistment directly to private sector employment or DoD STEM operations.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the workforce needs of the Defense Industrial Base and how NJIT, NJII, and the US Army are addressing those needs.
- Understand what steps NJIT, NJII, and the US Army have taken till now, what we plan to do together in the future, and what lessons have been learned.
