NCI Launches OpenLAB in State of the Art Facility

Martinsville, Va- New College Institute’s (NCI) OpenLab is a new collaborative space to work with advanced equipment in a state of the art environment. By opening up the advanced manufacturing center, the skilled members of the community now have a place to create and invent. “We at NCI believe there are a number of talented and highly-trained people that would benefit from access to tools to realize their vision,” states Clifford House, Quality Assurance Instructor at NCI.

In addition, NCI is offering a wide array of classes to teach how to utilize the tools being offered. Examples are classes in the programming and setup of CNC machine tools, Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) classes, and metrology classes.

House elaborates, ”NCI, through this program, are giving access to people to realize their potential to create something that they otherwise would not. The brilliant minds of our manufacturing workers that see clearly a way to solve a problem or make something unique should do so. These opportunities can lead to small businesses from local entrepreneurs only needing a prototype to get started. The way forward that we help our community is to remove obstacles and this is one way to do just that. If we want to make the world a better place we need to help others that would do the same.”

The public is invited to tour the facility in an Open House format Tuesday, May 24 from 2-5 pm.

For more information, contact Clifford House at 276–403-5620 or email chouse@newcollegeinstitute.org. General OpenLab information can be found at https://newcollegeinstitute.org/degrees-and-training/workforce-development/openlab.