As Smart Manufacturing Grows, Elgin Community College Leads with Mechatronics Training

ELGIN, Ill., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid a nationwide shift toward smart factories and automated production, Elgin Community College (ECC) is ahead of the curve.

Through its hands-on mechatronics program and as the only community college in Northern Illinois with a smart factory, ECC is equipping students with the skills employers need now and in the future. That capacity will grow even more when the college's new 150,000-square-foot Manufacturing and Technology Center (MTC) opens in fall 2026. Watch the new video showcasing the construction progress at elgin.edu/mtc.

Mechatronics Program Teaches Skills for the Future of Manufacturing

Increasingly, technology is driving manufacturing, and Elgin Community College is adapting to rapid developments.

ECC's mechatronics program gives students essential knowledge for maintaining automated systems. Students learn to integrate mechanical skills, electrical controls, fluid power systems, hydraulic equipment, programmable logic controllers, automation, and robotics to work together.

"Many of the employers in our area are facing a headwind of change that involves automation and robotics," says Cathy Taylor, PhD, dean of sustainability, business, and career technologies.

"There is more technology in manufacturing today than ever before," she adds. "But now it requires a different skill set. It requires more knowledge. It requires more critical thinking and problem-solving."

Smart Training Factory

Think about the types of automated conveyor systems moving online orders for large retailers such as Amazon or Target. Workers need to know how to set up the equipment, put together parts, program components, and troubleshoot problems to make sure operations run smoothly.

"Mechatronics is about how we integrate every one of those pieces throughout the machine to make it work as one," instructor Mike Marin says. 

The hands-on experience students gain at ECC is essential, preparing them for successful careers.

"Students learn the full range, so they can maintain systems and keep their equipment running," says Marin, who periodically meets with an advisory committee of local industry leaders to ensure classroom components mirror what employers are using. "It gives students more experience before they get out into the field. The more times they have to do something, the better they're going to get at it."

ECC has a distinct advantage. It is the only community college in Northern Illinois that has a smart factory used for training. And that smart factory is expanding as part of ECC's new Manufacturing and Technology Center facility, which will provide more space for modern classrooms, labs, and machinery when it opens in fall 2026.

The industry continues to evolve. Contrary to some perceptions, modern manufacturing systems are clean and sanitary, especially systems dealing with food products. "One of the biggest messages we try to emphasize now is that manufacturing is not the dirty job it used to be," Taylor says.

Strong Skills

Employers often send their workers to ECC to become reskilled or upskilled in mechatronics.

Students can earn a certificate in Industrial Maintenance Technology or Automated Electronic Systems or continue on to get an Associate of Applied Science in Integrated Systems Technology/Maintenance Technology.

While ECC teaches technical skills, faculty stress communication skills that are important for employability.

"We often hear from employers about the need for strong communication skills for our students. That's an area we emphasize in every course," Taylor says. "We stress to our students the need to problem-solve and communicate during lectures and lab sessions. We recognize that when our students leave here and go into the world of work, communication skills are just as essential as the technical skills."

The college tries to keep pace with the rapid rate of change in the manufacturing industry, she says. "As we prepare for the opening of the Manufacturing and Technology Center next year, we have adopted the philosophy once expressed by hockey great Wayne Gretzky: We are skating to where we think the puck is going to be."

The fall semester begins August 18. Learn more at elgin.edu.

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SOURCE Elgin Community College