CT Community Colleges' College of Technology

Explore high-paying careers in clean, high-tech Connecticut manufacturing.

About Us : History

History of the COT RCNGM

The idea for the Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing (RCNGM) grant came from the success of the College of Technology (COT), a virtual college program connecting engineering and technician training among Connecticut's 12 community colleges. These curriculum programs, which were developed with input from business and industry, provide pathway programs for students interested in continuing in a 4-year engineering or technician training program at designed Connecticut public universities.

Subsequently, the COT was able to develop articulation agreements with the state's technical high schools, which created a 2+2+2 pathway for students in Connecticut's technical high schools.

The COT had also collaborated with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) in developing marketing campaigns, curriculum and in providing professional development for faculty through a National Science Foundation ATE project grant. The COT RCNGM has also collaborated with CBIA through the Pipeline from the Technical High Schools to the Community Colleges NSF ATE project grant, a grant that further supports the Center's mission of helping to prepare the next generation of manufacturing workers.

Creating a Center that strengthens partnerships with the educational community, business and industry was a logical step in promoting needed training that addresses the need for more highly skilled workers in the new manufacturing environment.