Purdue professor integrates Teamcenter into curriculum
Professors always look for ways to enhance their students’ learning experiences. Universities want to give the most extensive and impressive educational experience to their students to make them real-world ready and successful in their careers. Amy Mueller and Purdue University are no different. Amy Mueller is a clinical assistant professor in computer graphics technology at Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Purdue University and has more than 30 years of corporate experience at companies such as Toyota and Cummins. She is also a Purdue alumna. She earned her mechanical engineering degree from Purdue and MBA in information systems from the University of Toledo.
Mueller integrates Siemens Teamcenter software into her college’s product lifecycle management curriculum. Students have the option to minor in PLM, which adds valuable skills to their degree. Students take two years of CAD, with one of those years specializing in Siemens NX software. From there they take Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T) and model-based definitions followed by a product data management course their senior year where students learn how to use Teamcenter, effectively tying all of the previous courses together. Mueller has always concentrated on the players of the industry and has seen tremendous change since she first got involved with CAD in 1981.
“The unique thing about Teamcenter is that there is no one way to use it. It is used in different ways for different scenarios and problems, so, even as a professor, I am still learning,” Mueller elaborated that she makes students set up Teamcenter in different ways for different use bases so that they can see just how many ways the software can be utilized.
Professor Mueller sees a big benefit in exposing students to Teamcenter because it makes students realize that there is nothing that isn’t affected by PLM, “Everything is impacted, everything is manufactured and assembled and has a part number. PLM gives an organizational factor to manufacturing that is necessary for success.”
During the 2016 PACE Global Annual Forum, held at the University of Cincinnati, Mueller had the opportunity to help students from across the globe realize the same through leading a Teamcenter training course. She said that she had a lot of fun teaching the students how to better use the software, but even though she was the trainer, she still learned a lot, “Teamcenter is very configurable and the PACE teams used it different than I use it at Purdue. It is extremely versatile and can be applied in a lot of different ways, so I am always learning with the students.”
When she doesn’t know the answer to an issue, Professor Mueller contacts Siemens Global Technical Access Center (GTAC) support for help, “they stay with you until you figure it out. There have been times when they will stay on for an hour and a half with you…but sometimes it’s only five minutes and they have me pointed in the right direction.”
Teamcenter helps manufacturers deliver increasingly complex products to market while maximizing productivity and streamlining global operations. Siemens is excited that more professors and students are discovering the usefulness and broad scope of Teamcenter software.
