2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Despite widespread acknowledgement of PLM technologies’ pivotal role in supporting modern industry, undergraduate STEM programs often struggle to include instruction on PLM topics due to the difficulty of covering the preponderance of discipline-specific concepts inherent in traditional curricula within the allocated credit hours. This paper discusses the establishment and operation of a new center at with directives to prepare collegiate students in utilizing PLM technologies through a variety of extracurricular activities and PLM resources. These include short-course lectures, guided software workshops, semester-length projects, support for research activities, and provision of PLM software in an open-access computer lab. To access the effectiveness of these educational efforts, the analysis of student surveys can help to tailor the activities to better meet learning needs. This model of supporting traditional curricula with extracurricular activities shows potential in preparing students for career roles driven by modern, digital processes.