DMG MORI and Illinois Tech Partner to Establish National Center for Advanced Manufacturing

DMG MORI and Illinois Institute of Technology announced their intention on Thursday, December 1, 2022, to establish a national center for advanced manufacturing, which aims to be one of the nation’s first joint university and industry academies to train, develop, and empower the advanced manufacturing workforces of the future.

The partners hope the national center will play a critical role in the nation’s goal of preparing the millions of workers needed to revive the advanced manufacturing industry in the United States, including the semiconductor industry. This national center will directly help the Chicago region become a hub for developing and supporting a local and national workforce of high-growth, high-paying, and high-tech manufacturing jobs. The national center will seek and will welcome a wide array of industry and higher education partners across Illinois and the region to ensure the greatest possible economic and workforce development impact.

Located at Illinois Tech’s historic Bronzeville campus on the South Side of Chicago, the national center’s academy will provide in-person and online curricula that are aligned with burgeoning industry workforce needs and important economic and national security priorities. The launch of the national center is ideally timed to help Illinois capitalize on the new programs and investments in the CHIPS Act by utilizing its industry and educational expertise to expand U.S. manufacturing. There is great support and enthusiasm for this uniquely specialized nexus of research and development and advanced manufacturing technologies:

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker: 
“This groundbreaking partnership between DMG MORI and Illinois Tech will not only open doors for countless Illinois students—it will also solidify our status as a national hub for the manufacturing industry. It is partnerships like these that advance our vision of an Illinois that is economically prosperous with the promise of opportunity at every turn.”

Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot: 
"I am pleased DMG MORI has selected the Illinois Institute of Technology for this impactful workforce program. This partnership will center Chicago in the conversation around upskilling and training a diverse workforce for the manufacturing industry while strengthening our local economy. I'm grateful to DMG MORI and Illinois Tech for working to ensure that equitable opportunities are available for our residents." 

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL): 
“With the passage of the CHIPS Act, our nation is poised to revitalize our manufacturing workforce, including here in Illinois. The launch of the new DMG MORI/Illinois Tech partnership for advanced manufacturing will open up new opportunities for Illinois’ workforce. Together, DMG MORI and Illinois Tech will train workers with the skills needed to fill high-paying manufacturing jobs in Illinois and continue Illinois’ reputation as a leader in the manufacturing industry.”

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL):
“I’m proud that DMG MORI and Illinois Tech are partnering in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood to develop programming that’ll help create good-paying manufacturing jobs that can empower working families, boost Illinois’s economy, and strengthen our national security for years to come. Partnerships like this one are building Illinois’s future for the better.”

U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL):
“Thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, this partnership between DMG MORI and Illinois Tech will fortify our manufacturing and semiconductor workforces and provide great union jobs for Illinoisans. I proudly voted to pass this bill to ensure the future of American science and innovation, lower costs for families in my district, and secure federal funding to educate and train the workforces of the future. This new partnership further demonstrates that Illinois has the workforce and innovation to continue leading the country in the manufacturing sector.”

U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL):
“I applaud the innovative partnership between the Illinois Institute of Technology and DMG MORI that will create opportunities for Illinoisans to shape and expand the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing workforces. These in-demand, high-paying jobs will increase the economic security of workers, especially in the Seventh Congressional District, with a special focus on including underrepresented communities while strengthening our national security.”

U.S. Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL):
“DMG MORI and Illinois Tech’s partnership will attract new investment and produce skilled workers ready to enter the workforce. This Congress made significant investments in advanced manufacturing through the CHIPs and Science Act. This new partnership will ensure that local workers have the necessary training and skills to help make Illinois a leader in advanced manufacturing.”

U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL):
“I am pleased to see the formation of this exciting new partnership between DMG MORI and Illinois Tech. This partnership will align growing industry workforce needs with our economic and national security priorities in order to help build a workforce that puts America back at the top of the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries. I look forward to seeing what new and innovative ideas emerge from this partnership.”

U.S. Congressman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL):
“I’m thrilled to support DMG MORI and Illinois Tech’s innovative partnership to shape the future of American advanced manufacturing here in Chicago. Building our capacity to train local workers for high-tech jobs, particularly communities and individuals who have been historically disadvantaged, will ultimately help strengthen our nation’s economic security and the financial security of American families.”

James V. Nudo | Chairman of DMG MORI Federal Services, Inc.:
“America’s advanced manufacturing industry needs one very important thing to keep growing: trained workers. As a Chicago native, I am thrilled that DMG MORI will help meet this need through our National Center for Advanced Manufacturing with Illinois Tech. By combining DMG MORI’s industry expertise with Illinois Tech’s education and workforce programs, our national center will directly train workers for the high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs of the future and help Illinois become a hub for a revitalization in American manufacturing.” 

Raj Echambadi | President of Illinois Institute of Technology:
“Chicago has long been an engine of technological opportunities for research, teaching, entrepreneurship, and engagement, and an attractive global destination for talent. As Chicago’s only technology-focused university, our national center for advanced manufacturing builds upon our historic strengths of relevance-inspired research and quality teaching, helping us seize this vital moment to advance technology as an innovation and opportunity engine for the entire region. We’re thrilled to be working with DMG MORI to cement Chicago as the center of a revitalized American manufacturing industry.”

Kenneth Christensen | Provost of Illinois Institute of Technology:
“The pace of change in advanced manufacturing has accelerated and shows no signs of slowing down—I'm thrilled to expand Illinois Tech’s relationship with DMG MORI to ensure Illinois sits at the epicenter of innovation to bridge cutting-edge research in higher education with the innovations and essential skills of the future for the advanced manufacturing industry. Illinois Tech is at the forefront of engineering and industry-relevant research and education, so it's only natural that we are part of reimagining the future of advanced manufacturing and ensuring that the needs of the workforce are met.”

To support manufacturing job growth in Chicago, the national center is focused on fueling the U.S. innovation workforce. Nearly 58 percent of all U.S. research and development takes place within the manufacturing sector—driving significant demand for master’s- and Ph.D.-level graduates to fuel new technologies. To help meet this challenge, the academy will look to serve as an innovation engine for the region, broadening access to advanced manufacturing and semiconductor R&D and workforce opportunities through work-relevant, industry-customized master’s and doctoral degree programs. 

In establishing this national center, Illinois Tech and DMG MORI will pool their complementary capabilities to expand and modernize the manufacturing capabilities of the greater Chicago area and the Midwest in support of needs in the semiconductor, aerospace, defense, health care, and automotive industries.