The gist
The ACC board of trustees accepted the gift from Samsung during a regular meeting Sept. 9, and announced plans to invest the dollars into the Semiconductor Technician Advanced Rapid Start program, or STARS.
The four-week, full-time program offers students a pathway into manufacturing technician roles by providing theoretical and hands-on training. While the school has previously offered the program at only its Highland campus, the latest funding will allow ACC to invest in the equipment needed to offer the program at its Round Rock campus.
“We developed the STARS program in collaboration with Samsung Austin Semiconductor and four other companies in the region to create an accelerated route toward a technician role,” Laura Marmolejo, ACC dean of Advanced Manufacturing, said in the release. “This gift will make a significant impact on our ability to grow STARS and help meet the growing workforce demands in our community.”
ACC plans to use the existing space at its Round Rock campus to support the immediate expansion of the program. However, construction on a new facility is expected next year, according to the release, and the ACC Foundation has proposed naming the new advanced manufacturing classroom the “Samsung Austin Semiconductor Advanced Manufacturing Lab.”
What else
The gift comes after the college also received a $7.5 million grant stemming from the U.S. Department of Defense to help expand ACC’s semiconductor programs.
In August, the school announced that the $7.5 million grant was originally awarded to The University of Texas and the Texas Institute for Electronics, which in turn distributed the funds to ACC to help it expand existing programs and develop new ones at its semiconductor training center. The three institutions announced a partnership back in March to create the training center in order to meet the growing demand for semiconductor jobs.
