Written by: James Rink, EdD, Director, Center for Quick Response Manufacturing
A few weeks ago, I wrote that the next era of manufacturing leadership won’t belong to whoever adopts AI first. It will belong to the regions that learn together the fastest. I also argued that Wisconsin’s opportunity isn’t to build something new. It’s to connect what we already have.
That’s a satisfying line to write. It’s a harder one to make specific.
So I want to try by looking at who is already in the room and what can happen when we choose to work together.
The idea I keep coming back to is connection without consolidation. Wisconsin doesn’t need one organization to own the network. We need to get better at connecting the capabilities that already exist.
Universities
Wisconsin has a remarkable collection of engineering and manufacturing expertise, spread across UW–Madison’s College of Engineering, UW–Milwaukee, UW–Platteville, UW–Stout, MSOE, and Marquette, each bringing different capabilities and strong ties to industry.
One example is the new METAL and ACE manufacturing workforce hubs, co-written by UW–Madison and UW–Platteville, with programming also involving UW–Stout and UW–Milwaukee. Those same four campuses are connected through the Foundry Educational Foundation.
The opportunity is bigger than anything any one university can build alone.
Regional and statewide connections
Wisconsin’s regional manufacturing alliances demonstrate the same idea from the ground up. The Central Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance (CWIMA) builds manufacturing career awareness and talent across central Wisconsin. The Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance (NEWMA) has grown from twelve founding members to more than 400, while the Green Bay Innovation Group (GBIG) connects the region’s paper, packaging, printing, converting, and supporting industries.
These organizations grew out of people recognizing the strengths and challenges in their own regions and deciding they could accomplish more together.
Wisconsin’s technical colleges bring another essential piece, educating much of the state’s manufacturing workforce and providing applied training closely connected to industry needs. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers’ association, adds statewide reach and the voice of more than 3,800 employers.
When these organizations are at the same table, we have a better chance of solving problems none of us can solve alone.
Connecting capabilities
UW–Stout’s Manufacturing Outreach Center recently received a five-year, $19 million federal designation as Wisconsin’s statewide MEP leader, with the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership continuing as a key partner. Their work with the MKE Tech Hub Coalition to help mid-market manufacturers adopt AI shows what becomes possible when capabilities connect.
Other pieces are already in place. WisTRAIN helps manufacturers offset training costs. UW–Milwaukee, MSOE, and UW–Madison’s Interdisciplinary Professional Programs provide focused professional education. UWEBC brings another model, convening supply chain and manufacturing leaders around shared problems and peer learning.
No one organization has to provide all of it.
The room at Lambeau Field
Many of those pieces converged at the Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Summit this past June, convened by UW–Madison’s College of Engineering. UWEBC held its Wisconsin Digital Symposium at the same venue the day before, intentionally connecting the two events. More than 700 people and over 100 partner organizations came together at Lambeau Field.
I don’t think we should remember that summit simply as one good day.
I think we should remember it as evidence that the room already exists.
But having the right people in the room isn’t the same as functioning as a connected learning network. What gets in the way of knowledge, ideas, and capabilities moving more easily across organizations and regions?
The Wisconsin Idea was never about the university having all the answers. It was about taking the university’s knowledge beyond campus to work on problems that matter to Wisconsin. Living it today also means recognizing that important knowledge resides throughout the state, in our universities and technical colleges, with our manufacturers, regional alliances, trade associations, economic development organizations, and, most importantly, the people doing the work every day.
No one needs to own that network. We need to become much more intentional about connecting it.
The room already exists. The partners are already in it. Our opportunity now is to get better at what we do together once we’re there.