Education 7.27.25 - Flipbook - Page 4
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The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, July 27, 2025
New programs address workforce needs
Busy professionals benefit from flexible formats
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
A
challenging and rewarding. He and
demands
t the University of Maryland
his
existing
Eastern
its
were awarded second place in the
developed tools as well. With this
in
master’s oral presentation category
preparation
mechatronics
at the recent 14th Annual Research
to succeed in any field. This could
Symposium.
be
new
Shore
Master
electrical
(UMES),
of
and
Science
engineering came into being
colleague
in order to meet workforce needs.
conducted
“The
to
faculty
provide
can
integrate
systems,
the
need
and
that
on
characterizing
the
control
of
a
5.85
wireless
mechanical
in
a
typical
and
antenna
laboratory,
GHz
systems,” says Yuanwei Yin, Ph.D.,
environment,”
chair of the engineering department
goal
at
UMES.
feedback
is
to
have
received
in
industry
partners
improve
“We
from
for
such
environments
which
guided
our
With
the
broader
education
readiness,
seemed
this
the
goals
and
logical
next
Campus
program
the
mission
step
for
the
for
of
mechanical,
professionals
electrical,
computer
the
classes
geared
to
electronic
All
artificial
are
for
engineering.
are
in-person
working
but
there
professionals
of
a
of
is
who
given
Science
had
be
program.
for
create
offers
entirely
the
the
learn
of
intelligence
online.
Beyond
coursework
for
certifications
helps
related
which
can
increase employment opportunities.
Another
fully
by
online
offered
Bachelor
Maryland, Baltimore school of social
intelligence
work is the newly revamped human-
data
University
leadership
services
in
of
health
and
certificate.
The
and
previous
program
focused
on
and
traditional
leadership
development
professionals may take one or two
machine
courses at a time until they finish
students will be prepared to work
such as budgeting and similar skills.
the program.
in this environment. They will also
But what was really needed was a
be
more humanistic approach.
Since
mechatronics
is
an
introduced
interdisciplinary field, the students
where
enrolled
of
come
engineering
general,
and
of
various
backgrounds
including
electrical,
aerospace.
core
their
courses,
advisors,
electives
interest.
to
from
There
showcase
professionals
future,”
Ph.D.,
will
decisions.
to
says
be
research
build
at
experience
in
the
use
says
specialized
Tassnim Mohamed has completed
the
program
and
interdisciplinary
combination of hands-on technical
advanced
coursework
and
Ph.D.,
M.S.W.,
co-director
of
the
are
Ph.D., M.S.W., associate professor.
prepared better for all the different
problems
kinds of things that leaders have to
a
are
given
solved
have
testing
program
Hopkins,
“They needed to feel like they were
they
program
AI
project-based
labs
the
available for student work.
and
to
learning
via
students
training
how
making,”
(PBL) with hands-on work in which
taught
way,
the
learning
decision
Courses
recommendation
found
and
for
opportunity
are
has
data
team
program, along with Megan Meyer,
material
in
leader
good
the loop.”
field
systems
year
data
be
of
their
laboratories for robotics embedded
first
in
a
to
as
professor
an
his
Gortcheva,
how
content
them
Karen
phase,
the
learning
the
of
for
today’s AI, which has the human in
faculty mentorship. In addition, the
of
for
kind
analytics, “but what we focus is on
through
two
ready
that
important
take
goes
just
felt
as
from
will
with
and
“We
was
help
the
for
more
prepare
director
is
plus
make
“We
Elena
portfolio
small class size and the high level of
big
future
with
and confidence in their field.
A
the
series
their
to
machines
the
of
a
on
is
AI
After
students
based
conferences
mechanical
to
centric
the
program
solutions
highly
learning
the
students
human
is
just
Bachelor
artificial
degree,
Today’s
AI
the
program
this demand.
graduate
enough
throughout
cannot
in
in the late afternoon, and working
traditional
“You
UMGC
students. Many classes are offered
as
important
Science
centered
well
is
may have,” says Gortcheva.
is now being offered to help meet
as
it
integrated
industry
need
A
artificial
ethics,
to
workplace.
(AI)
industry.
in
in
prepare
can
intelligence
for example.
students
huge
financial
about all the irresponsible effects it
always
the
a
the
sector, marketing or cybersecurity,
about generative AI without talking
reliable
preparing
needs
Today,
has
care,
positioned
and
outdoor
where
(UMGC)
the school. Mechatronics integrates
and
and
health
are
newly
design
The University of Maryland Global
of
workforce
master’s
indoor
His
connectivity is critical.
design for the curriculum.”
STEM
complex
they
using
and
Ethics is an important element of
expertise
system
workplace
AI. While there is a required course
communications
wireless
the
signal
laboratory
his
in
of
technologies
loss
Mohamed.
expand
wireless
focuses
path
indoor
says
and alumni expressing a desire for
program,
research,
electromagnetic
the
electronics,
robotics
“Our
in
Bamson
training
recognized
advanced
Tamunoene
focus.
a
analysis
Each
AI
project
development
phase
and
a
and
women.
Often
to
the
project
use
a
the
specific
does
not
resolve as planned, it has still been
learning
experience
advanced
before
students
for
the
always
mostly
a
a
services
short-
staffed
person
will
managerial
have
the
by
be
role
necessary
experience and skills. This program
is designed to fill in the gaps.
The
from
for the student.
to
they
human
are
staffed
problem.
prepares
organizations
this
solve
PBL
and
that
learned
important
Health
In
phase.
to
an
do with their workforce.”
demonstrate
technology
If
using
year-long
January
program
through
runs
December
with the same cohort of students.
Stevenson students utilize a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer to enhance their learning experience.
Transforming health care with
high-tech, hands-on learning
Virtual reality, artificial intelligence and high-tech equipment
power immersive learning
By Kate Lawless, Contributing Writer
magine being thrust into the
chaos of a medical emergency,
your decisions determining life
or death outcomes for a patient
showing clear signs of a stroke.
Having just graduated as a
newly minted physician’s assistant,
your heart pounds as you swiftly
assess symptoms, compelled to act
decisively. Yet, rather than panic,
your focus is sharp and confident.
You’ve experienced this before – not
in a crowded hospital, but within
a vivid, interactive virtual reality
scenario.
Across Maryland, universities are
harnessing innovative technologies
to provide immersive learning
experiences in health care education,
fundamentally transforming how
students learn, retain information
and gain clinical confidence.
I
At the heart of this educational
revolution is the University of
Maryland’s (UMD) HoloCamera
studio. Tucked within its College
Park campus is one of the world’s
largest volumetric capture facilities,
funded by a $1 million National
Science Foundation grant.
This high-tech studio houses
300 4K cameras that capture every
angle of a scenario. After recording,
artificial intelligence fuses the videos
together with other data sources.
The resulting extended reality (XR)
environment, layered with real-time
animations and text annotations,
enables students to fully immerse
themselves in virtual scenarios
where they can learn and practice
new skills.
Students
in
University
of
Maryland, Baltimore’s school of
graduate studies’ physician assistant
(PA) program are among the first
to use this technology to train in a
lifelike medical situation. Wearing
VR headsets, students observe
Cheri Hendrix, associate dean and
director of the school’s PA program,
assess a patient in a wheelchair for
signs of a stroke. Superimposed on
the patient are animations of realtime data depicting the patient’s
internal responses – a level of detail
previously unavailable in medical
training.
“It’s a total game changer to kind
of be in the room, seeing what’s
going on in real time,” explains PA
student Meg Rice. “I can visualize
exactly how the symptoms connect
to what’s happening inside the
patient’s body. When I encounter
similar cases in the real world, I’ll
UMES engineering student Tamunoene Bamson
It
consists
synchronous
of
month-long
Zoom
workshops,
each focusing on a different topic.
Students
leaders,
core
learn
to
to
lead
values,
to
be
good
from
be
team
their
mindful,
own
to
be
inclusive, to use a team’s diversity
to
advantage,
to
be
adaptable
in
their leadership role. Since burnout
is also a big problem in the health
and
social
services
sectors,
self-
care practices are emphasized.
Coaching
sessions
take
place
between workshops and range from
coaching circles run by professional
coaches to facilitated peer coaching
and
individual
coaching
sessions.
By sharing their struggles, students
can learn from others how to apply
what
they
have
learned
to
their
organization or workplace.
The
format
centered
human
for
services
and
is
from
and
from
human-
health
different
to
and
accessible
to
first
cohort
12
and
allows
students
different
designed
of
the
in
certificate
instructors
participate
It
for
leadership
to
places
backgrounds.
be
affordable
anyone.
diverse
The
women
professionals from both health and
human
services
have
completed
the program.
have a vivid mental image guiding
my decisions.”
Professor Amitabh Varshney,
dean of UMD’s college of computer,
mathematical and natural sciences,
and his team are researching how
VR, augmented reality and XR
learning environments can advance
instruction and learning.
With a basic anatomy class,
they compared how well VR-trained
students versus those taught using
cadavers in a lab retained and
recalled what they learned. Both
groups performed equally well,
validating VR as a scalable, costeffective tool for providing globally
accessible medical training.
In a separate study, their research
demonstrated that using VR
increased retention and recall by
8.8 percent, compared to traditional
learning methods.
“We are on the cusp of something
truly transformative,” Varshney says.
“To the best of my knowledge,
our university is unique in creating
immersive content that’s been
proven to work in the classroom.
The opportunity to help lead this
educational evolution with this
technology is very exciting.”
Looking ahead, Varshney and
his team are exploring the use of
generative AI to build interactive
characters that can engage with
students during virtual training,
further personalizing the learning
experience. They are also pursuing
opportunities to use VR to train
individuals in rural and underserved
communities across the globe that
don’t have access to top-tier medical
facilities.
Importantly, their integration of VR
into UMB classrooms is deliberate:
Varshney says each use case is
designed to align with culture and
pedagogy, making sure it serves
both student and faculty needs and
maintains or improves educational
outcomes.
UMD isn’t the only Marylandbased school offering technologyenhanced immersive learning in
health care education. Colleges
like Anne Arundel Community
College (AACC) and Stevenson
University have also enhanced
immersive learning opportunities
using innovative technology to train
their dental hygiene and chemistry
students.
Transforming health care, continued on page 6
