Donation gives USC engineering instruction major boost

A $628 million donation of equipment and software will allow the University of South Carolina to significantly improve its training of engineers with the digital technology that’s now an everyday tool of the profession.

The donation from Siemens Corp. will create a factory-style laboratory that will provide students with significant experience in cutting-edge technology, officials said Thursday.

The gift from the German company will develop “a new set of skills for workers” as aeronautics, auto and medical companies increasingly depend on digital engineering for design and production, company executive Raj Batra said.

It is among the largest donations the company has given to a university, he said.

Siemens assists Boeing, BMW, Michelin and other international manufacturers with plants in South Carolina. The company has nearly 500 employees in the state.

The gift will allow students and faculty “to push the boundaries” of innovation and research, USC President Harris Pastides said.

It also sets them up for jobs upon graduation because the technology is the industrial standard, officials said.

Batra described the partnership with USC as a “perpetual annuity” providing well-trained employees.

An estimated 140,000 companies worldwide use the technology given by Siemens, officials said.

Hossein Haj-Hariri, dean of USC’s College of Engineering and Computing, called the donation “a milestone” that will put the school in the forefront of industrial technology.

The equipment coming will guide students in developing products, determining the life span of parts and learning more quickly what works and what doesn’t, he said.

The new laboratory will join other research laboratories in the McNair Center at USC.

Gov. Henry McMaster hailed the donation as a key step in building a work force that will enable South Carolina to claim the title of “Brain Power USA.”

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Donation gives USC engineering instruction major boost."