Advanced Transportation Center
One day in the not-so-distant future, every city in the country will be a “Smart City.” All transportation infrastructure will be connected. Vehicles will send and receive communication from traffic devices, making travel routes faster, safer and more efficient. Cars, light duty and commercial trucks, busses, trains, and planes will all operate as a part of an intricate web of wireless technology.
This technology is developing rapidly, which means that transportation and manufacturing professionals need to stay compliant, up-to-date, and innovative. We established the Advanced Transportation Center (ATC) at Washtenaw Community College to meet those needs with the financial support from our federal and state partners.
Read more about "What is Advanced Transportation" and articles in the press.
Why WCC?
Approach
We take a holistic approach with our multidisciplinary academic programs that:
- Provide quality teaching and learning experiences aligned to industry demand.
- Prepare students for careers in emerging mobility infrastructure technologies.
- Create a pipeline to develop talent for high-skill careers.
Right now we provide workforce training for professionals and skilled laborers to hit the ground running in these industries:
- Intelligent transportation systems—especially vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.
- Advanced manufacturing—such as the latest manufacturing machines, tools, and processes, including light-weighting materials.
- Automotive services—especially testing, development, maintenance and repair, including Ford F-150 grade aluminum bodies.
Expertise
Our faculty and staff:
- Are leaders in creating IT intensive intelligent transportation systems curricula. We partner with regional employers and industry experts to shape the curricula and identify workshops and internships.
- Have extensive experience collaborating with industry partners in the Center’s state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms.
- Offer a unique mix of e-learning combined with hands-on training. Our students can earn technician certificates, or continue their education by transferring to 4-year college or university programs.
Location
WCC’s location gives us easy access to the world’s leaders in connected car development. The ATC is near:
- The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), currently conducting a USDOT-sponsored Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Program
- MCity, UMTRI’s one-of-a-kind urban test facility for on-road deployments (formerly known as Mobility Transformation Center)
- American Center for Mobility at Willow Run
- US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Fuel and Emissions Laboratory
- The Center for Automotive Research (CAR)
- The University of Michigan’s College of Engineering and School of Information
- Merit Network
- Google regional offices in Ann Arbor and Birmingham
- Engineering facilities for global automakers and suppliers
