LU partners with Flowserve to open state-of-the-art learning center on campus
“This learning center means a lot for Lamar University students when we think about what companies are looking for and that’s STEM degreed students coming out of school having not only a great academic knowledge, but also a great practical application knowledge,” said Lamar Duhon, president of Aftermarket Services and Solutions. “This gives students at LU a head start against other college graduates and a huge advantage coming out understanding how the concepts apply in the real world. They can then take these skills into their careers.”
Dr. Brian Craig, dean of the LU College of Engineering, said the main goal of the college is to prepare engineering graduates to be job ready. The Flowserve LRC, the dean added, is just one of the many facets of the college that will help make LU engineering graduates more marketable.
“This learning center will give them exposure to exactly what they will see in the workforce –– valves, in-service pumps, training pumps, seals and actuators –– and they’ll be able to take these things apart, put them back together and trouble shoot where needed,” he said. “Ultimately, the lab will give our students a competitive advantage right out of the gate.”
Just recently, the LU College of Engineering was listed as top in the state and No.3 in the nation for 20-year net income among engineering graduates, as noted by Payscale.com. Craig said he hopes that by continuing to increase engineering students’ industry knowledge with the LRC, LU engineering graduates will have a “leg up” in the field against competitors in the job market.
“The starting salaries that our graduates are seeing in recent years is nothing short of amazing and our college continues to rank highly because of the hard work from our students, our faculty and our partnerships,” Craig said. “On a regular basis, this lab will bring together classrooms of industry professionals being taught by Flowserve certified trainers.”
The center also will host industry trainings for incoming workers in the Southeast Texas area.
“The collaboration that we have going here between Flowserve and Lamar University is a great way to bring local capabilities into the Southeast Texas region,” said Jason Ferris, Flowserve vice president of marketing and technology. “Bringing in some of our equipment and know-how while also being able to give the students at the university a good hands-on learning experience –– reinforces our commitment to supporting local customers.
Flowserve’s dedicated team of certified trainers will facilitate product demonstrations and simulations, as well as leverage other training tools, to deepen each participant’s understanding of Flowserve’s flow control systems. Based on the level of training, participants may be eligible to receive professional development or educational credits following completion.
“The idea is that Lamar University students will be able to attend these classes and do a little more real-world training. We have pumps here in the lab that we can run, we have pumps that can be taken apart –– now we have the engineering concept and we’ve put hands-on practice to it,” said William Langehennig, customer training manager at Flowserve.
Stewart Shoefstall, vice president of sales in the United States, chimed in “I graduated from Lamar University with an engineering degree and what I’ve learned is when you’re in engineering, you see a lot of things and you do a lot of theoretical calculations and book learning,” he said. “I can tell you, there is no substitute for actually seeing what you’ll be working with before you graduate. It makes you way more valuable in industry. What I hope is that this lab will increase the want and drive for our students at LU to come into our co-op programs so that they fuel the future with new opportunities for talent.”