Recommendation

Congress should significantly broaden the Manufacturing Engineering Education Program, providing at least $100 million in funding and establishing programs at 20 universities.

Details

The Manufacturing Engineering Education Program was signed into law in December 2016 as part of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, authorizing the Department of Defense to support industry-relevant, manufacturing-focused, engineering training at U.S. institutions of higher education, universities, industry, and not-for-profit institutions. The program was derived from a 2012 ITIF proposal that the United States should create a core of at least 20 universities that brand themselves as leading manufacturing universities. Congress has essentially funded the program at a pilot level; it should be significantly expanded.

Keep reading:

▪ Stephen Ezell and Robert Atkinson, “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Competitiveness Woes Behind: A National Traded Sector Competitiveness Strategy” (ITIF, September 2012), https://itif.org/publications/2012/09/20/fifty-ways-leave-your-competitiveness-woes-behind-national-traded-sector/.