A new partnership provides Mercer County Career Center students who finish a robotics curriculum tied to three center programs with 15 credits at California University of Pennsylvania.

Officials recently signed an articulation agreement that would give graduates credits toward an associate’s degree in industrial technology at the state university.

The opportunity will save students and parents time and money, said career center administrative assistant Wanda Wilds.

Portions of the robotics curriculum are embedded into three programs at the center ’ electronics technology; robotics, engineering and design; and precision production metals ’ and the instructors worked together to develop it, Ms. Wilds said.

Four center students recently talked about their experiences in classes and building robots.

Jeremiah Tribley, a rising junior at Greenville High School focusing on electronics, showed off an autonomous programmable robot they built.

The project was difficult and time-consuming, said Cody Gruver, a member of Greenville’s class of 2008 also focusing on electronics.

But the boys all agreed that what they were learning was fun.

’If you just read about it, you won’t learn it,’ said Devan Hilles, a rising senior at Grove City High School in the center’s metals program. ’Learning it hands-on you actually understand what’s going on.’

’And you can make mistakes,’ said Kraig Miller, a 2008 Commodore Perry High School grad in the manufacturing related technology program.

Mistakes help you learn, noted robotics, engineering and design teacher Brenda Hittle.

Mrs. Hittle said she was excited about the program, which she hopes will help the center send kids out into the education and business worlds with that much more experience in a growing field.

One of the other nice things about the center, Jeremiah said, is that the different classes work together on projects.

’It’s as close to the real world as we can make it,’ Mrs. Hittle said.

The demand for workers with skills in technology related to robotics is growing as new companies open across the state, said David Landis, vice president of education and training at The Technology Collaborative. The statewide economic development organization focuses on robotics, cyber-security and digital technologies industries involved in the state Department of Community and Economic Development 2+2+2 Robotics Technology Project program under way at California and Carnegie Mellon universities and other educational institutions.