Purdue NExT, Wabash National collaborate on online corporate training
July 28, 2015
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From left Bob Nida, vice president for Organizational Development at Wabash National Corp., Frank Dooley, Purdue vice provost for teaching and learning, and Ananth Iyer, faculty director of Purdue NExT, discuss the agreement to provide online courses for Wabash National employees. |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue NExT, an online interactive learning program, has reached a three-year agreement to provide courses for employees of Wabash National, a Lafayette-based diversified industrial manufacturer and North America’s leading producer of semi-trailers.
Purdue NExT offers online non-degree advanced courses, powered by Purdue’s cloud-based platform. Students gain exclusive access to elite courses taught by world-class faculty focusing on applied professional development. This approach to online learning teaches students how to master a specific marketable skill they can immediately apply to their field of study.
The agreement with Wabash National is the first major corporate relationship for Purdue NExT. Under the agreement, Purdue NExT will provide management training courses specific to Wabash National. Wabash National also will offer Purdue NExT courses to its employees, along with select customers, suppliers and dealers.
“We always considered one of the major components of Purdue NExT to be working with businesses and industries to provide interactive, applied training for employees to help them remain competitive,” said Ananth Iyer, faculty director of Purdue NExT. “Our work with Wabash National is exactly what we were aiming for, and we especially look forward to working with a global company that has corporate headquarters in Lafayette.”
Bob Nida, Wabash National vice president of organizational development said, “The opportunity to collaborate with Purdue University gives us the ability to offer cost-effective skills training for associates throughout the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom, with collaborative interaction discussions at the local level. Technology-based education supplemented with follow-up classroom discussion will provide improved leadership execution and application practices.”
Purdue NExT is part of the transformational learning component of Purdue Moves, an initiative designed to broaden the university's global impact and enhance educational opportunities for its students.
Currently, the program includes 50 courses and is expected to add 20-25 more by the end of August, said Steve Dunlop, Purdue NExT managing director. The courses range from communication, leadership, training, engineering, computer science, math, accounting and finance.
More information, including the complete list of courses, can be found at purduenext.purdue.edu.
Established in 1985, Wabash National specializes in the design and production of dry freight vans, refrigerated vans, platform trailers, bulk-tank trailers, intermodal equipment, engineered products and composite products.
Contact: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Sources: Ananth Iyer, 765-494-4514, aiyer@purdue.edu
Steve Dunlop, 765-494-7800, dunlops@purdue.edu
Robert Nida, 765-771-5812, robert.nida@wabashnational.com
