North Dakota State College of Science announced a partnership with SITECH Dakotas, a division of Butler Machinery, to provide state-of-the-art equipment for the College’s Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology department. Each academic year, SITECH Dakotas will provide NDSCS with the latest equipment to be used at no cost. SITECH Dakotas will also provide training and technical support for faculty to effectively operate the equipment. The equipment will be returned at the end of each academic year, to be replaced with updated equipment the following year.

SITECH Dakotas has currently entrusted NDSCS with the following equipment, valued at approximately $35,000: Trimble GPS Base, Trimble GPS R10 Receiver and Trimble Data Collector.

“This partnership allows our program to be more efficient,” said Jeff Jelinek, NDSCS Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology Program Coordinator. “We are able to have more students working hands-on with equipment at the same time.”

In spring 2018, SITECH Dakotas will provide two additional GPS receivers, a machine display and mounting brackets to NDSCS, adding $60,000 to the value of entrusted equipment for the 2017-2018 academic year.

“We are excited for the machine control equipment we will be able to utilize this spring,” said Jelinek. “Our partnership with SITECH Dakotas will bring hands-on training to our machine control and project layout curriculum. This is an area that many students are interested in, and they will be better prepared for the workforce by having operated this high-tech equipment.”

“This partnership supports our focus on communication throughout the industry,” said Chris Giese, SITECH Dakotas General Manager. “Students will be better prepared to work for SITECH Dakotas and our customers, saving training time. Everyone will benefit from this partnership.”

Graduates from the NDSCS Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology program in 2016 had a 100% placement rate. Individuals interested in the program can learn more online at ndscs.edu/surveying.