UR Academy offers the largest, most comprehensive cobot training platform

Universal Robots runs a cobot training academy.

Advanced Motion & Controls Ltd. supplies collaborative robot arms, or “cobots”, by Universal Robots (UR). In addition to producing these robots, the manufacturer runs the UR Academy. Founded in 2016, the UR Academy is a training platform that offers online and in-class robotics training courses, available in 16 languages. Today, more than 100,000 people from more than 130 countries are completing these courses. Dozens of authorized training centres are operational in 24 countries.

Cobots in the classroom

The company launched the Academy to create in-house experts and upgrade the workforce’s skills in cobot mastery. Students enrol in these courses to shorten cobot implementation time substantially and build their cobot fleet more quickly. UR has reached out to schools, from elementary to college-level and vocational, to offer this hands-on experience in programming and operating real industrial robots.

Getting UR cobots into classrooms is instrumental in addressing the skills gap in the workforce, to make young people more employable. Available from Advanced Motion & Controls, these robot arms are safe to use around students and easy to learn, but they are also the same professional cobots that students will later encounter in real work environments. Both teachers and students are more motivated when working with robots with real-world applicability, while earning certificates that have real credibility in the industry.

All UR Academy classes offer hands-on, interactive, realistic, and visual content. Students do not sit through talky seminars, but work directly with the robots, either in real life or through a free simulator. The UR team is currently working on three new Academy initiatives, all influenced by user feedback: micro-credentials and education programs, which help job seekers get taken more seriously by human-resources managers; virtual classrooms, which have become vital during the COVID-19 pandemic; and customized learning experiences, to guide students down preferred paths.

While cobots are very easy to deploy and use, the most successful customers are those who complete UR Academy courses. This results in a better understanding of the robots, with more applicable knowledge, fewer service calls, and buildup of in-house expertise.

For more information, contact Advanced Motion & Controls.

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