Trine opening in Warsaw

Education collaboration supporting orthopedics

 

June 10, 2010--A collaborative education venture between Trine University and two other regional institutions of higher learning will support job creation and a work force to sustain the orthopedics industry in Warsaw, Ind.

Trine University President Earl D. Brooks II, Grace College President Dr. Ron Manahan and Ivy Tech Community College President Thomas J. Snyder, along with representatives from OrthoWorx, announced the collaboration today.

Trine leaders plan to establish a School of Professional Studies branch campus in Warsaw this fall, and partner with Grace in nearby Winona Lake and Ivy Tech in Warsaw to offer new education opportunities to support OrthoWorx’s Talent and Workforce Development Initiative. OrthoWorx is a Warsaw-based industry, community and education initiative to advance and support growth and innovation within the region’s uniquely concentrated, globally significant orthopedics device sector.

Trine’s partnership with Ivy Tech will enable students to spend two years at Ivy Tech and another two at Trine to complete a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Further collaboration will allow two years at Ivy Tech, two years at Trine and an additional year at Trine to complete the master’s degree in biomedical engineering.

Trine has received Higher Learning Commission accreditation for a new master of biomedical engineering degree to be offered this fall. The university will offer online and seated courses for the biomedical engineering graduate degree program.

Trine will also partner with Grace College, which is working to establish the Center of Excellence in Orthopedic Regulatory Affairs. Grace will offer an undergraduate degree focused upon regulatory compliance for medical device manufacturers.

Trine will add a track in regulatory compliance to a new master’s degree in leadership to create an education partnership with the center and to enhance the undergraduate degree. Regulatory affairs professionals are one of the medical device industry’s greatest talent needs.

Tobias Buck, chairman and CEO of Paragon Medical in Pierceton, Ind. and chairman of OrthoWorx’s Talent and Workforce Development Initiative, said the partnerships will stimulate the north-central and northeast Indiana economies.

“Adding resources to supply technical education for graduates who can then serve the region’s orthopedic industry contributes to the economic strength of higher education, manufacturing and ancillary niche orthopedic businesses in our region,” he said. “It contributes to and enhances the supply of a skilled workforce for the industry, while keeping talented young graduates in our home state.”

Grace College, home of the Orthopaedic Capital Center, is an institution of higher learning with approximately 1,650 undergraduate, graduate and seminary students. The Orthopaedic Scholar Institute, an extracurricular program designed for Grace’s top business students, partners with leading orthopedic companies in order to prepare students to excel as leaders in the industry.

Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana is the state’s largest and only community college system, offering two-year degrees at 24 campuses in 14 regions.