A new lab and new curriculum–new engineering students have changes to look forward to thanks to a $50,000 grant.

The College of Engineering and Engineering Technology has introduced a new curriculum for future students following a grant from OMRON Foundation. The equipment grant helped create the program’s new robotics and mechatronics lab and was given to NIU by the OMRON Foundation.

Promod Vohra, dean of College of Engineering, said the new $150,000 lab will be a great educational outlet for the nationally ranked engineering program.

“We have developed a new curriculum with an emphasis in mechatronics design and programming,” Vohra said. “We can make much more in demand and be much more competitive.”

The College of Engineering celebrated the grand opening of its new robotics and mechatronics lab on April 19. The OMRON Foundation has worked with NIU’s engineering program for more than 15 years to provide graduates with internships. It provided the new lab with $50,000 worth of equipment. The lab’s technology has allowed the program to develop the new curriculum.

“Because mechatronics is a new field, they need graduates with those skills,” Vohra said. “[OMRON] was very impressed with our program and were very keen with our partnership.”

Abhijit Gupta, Robotics Club adviser and professor of mechanical engineering, said the quality of NIU’s engineering program was what attracted OMRON.

“NIU provides the ideal location for engineering students,” Gupta said. “They look for engineers for their company. The students who go through the program and use the lab are very well-trained.”

The lab will serve multiple purposes for the program. Incoming freshmen can use the lab as a tool to begin understanding difficult concepts.

“OMRON went above and beyond by giving access to eLearn modules that freshmen can use for fundamental concepts,” Vohra said.

Beside the primary focus of mechatronics and robotics, students can also use the lab for individual purposes, Gupta said.

Even students like Timothy Lun, senior mechanical engineering major, who won’t be able to fully utilize the lab, are excited for its future at NIU.

“As a senior engineering student I’m glad they finally renovated it to benefit the new comers to experiment robotic control,” Lun said.