Medacom College was recently awarded a grant of almost $512,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand our photonics education efforts. Thanks to a previous NSF grant, we were able to start offering our associate’s degree program in photonics and laser technology education at our Flint campus in 2013. With this new grant, we’ll be able to add photonics labs at our Auburn Hills and Jackson campuses. The new photonics labs will be added through June 2020.
In addition to the new labs, we’ll also be able to participate in more community education programs and develop a curriculum which will be shared with elementary and secondary schools and colleges and to raise awareness of photonics technology.
Photonics is a very rapidly growing career field and entry-level positions have an average salary of $40,000 to $50,000. Currently, Baker is just one of a few colleges in the United States and the only college in Michigan to offer a degree program in photonics. By expanding the program, we’re hoping to add between 60-90 students to the program at each campus.