Industry 4.0 Skills Accelerator (i4SA)


Industry 4.0 Skills Accelerator (i4SA) Program will:

  • Provide valuable training and exposure activities to prepare potential and existing workforce participants to work in high-tech environments and with automated systems.
  • Introduce Industry 4.0 concepts to the K-12 community, incumbent workers and organizations that continue to suffer hiring and skills training shortfalls caused by COVID-19.
  • Provide an opportunity to gain the skills necessary for jobs within the advanced manufacturing industry sector.
  • Focus on skills in critical thinking/problem solving, failure analysis and maintenance of i4.0 electro-mechanical systems.

The program includes four initiatives to:

  1. Establish an i4.0 CAVS-E Experiential Learning Factory - scaled down production line, cobots, autonomous mobile robot, sensoring for equipment monitoring, augmented reality / virtual reality (AR/VR), and data visualization systems (dashboards) to capture system status.
  2. Provide experiential training and coaching program* - deliver i4.0 Core Tools and i4.0 Bridge training programs by expanding current curriculums for problem solving, failure analysis, and advanced maintenance to include hands-on interactive learning, and integration of data analytics (i.e., how to make sense of the data and utilize it for decision making) and visual dashboards.
  3. Deliver i4.0 Core Tools workshops to the K-12 community (e.g., CTE instructors, engineering clubs, career coaches)* – deliver training to equip individuals with the knowledge needed to demonstrate the available pathways to the next generation of workers for advanced manufacturing jobs.
  4. Establish a K-12 outreach community campaign* - engage historically under-represented student populations and provide exposure activities on i4.0 related topics and career opportunities.

* More information regarding training opportunities for K-12 educators and outreach opportunities for both industry and K-12 schools can be found here

ARPA Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) Administered by AccelerateMS

  • Awarded by the U.S. Department of Treasury
  • Principal Investigator: Dr. Tonya McCall, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems – Extension
  • Duration of 15 months (October 2022 – June 2023)*
    • * at the completion of the grant period, training will continue through December 2023.
  • Training available at no cost to participants through December 2023 (limited number of offerings).

For additional information contact Tonya McCall at tmccall@cavse.msstate.edu, (601) 407-2767

MSU CAVS Extension logo
accelerateMS logo
Mississippi Department of Employment Services logo
Manufacturing Extension Partnership logo
Industry 4.0 Skills Accelerator logo

This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Funds, federal award SLFRP0003, awarded to Mississippi State University CAVS Extension by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

i4.0 Core Tools and i4.0 Bridge Training Information
Basics of Data Analytics for the Manufacturing Industry Webinar
8D Problem Solving in an i4.0 Environment
Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (PFMEA) in an i4.0 Environment
Reliability 4.0: Using Industry 4.0 Tools to Transition from Reactive to Proactive Maintenance
Visual Dashboard Development using Power BI