SMT topics in focus
20.04.2020
Five questions for Jim Leather, who created the Time4Academy program
Jim, what is Time4Academy? Time4Academy is our e-learning campaign. Customers and partners can take advantage of the mandatory shutdowns, travel restrictions and home office activities in these difficult times for training and education. For three months, we provide free access to our e-learning platform with more than 150 courses covering repairs, maintenance and programming in electronics production. No commitment whatsoever is required.
When and how did you come up with this idea? As Head of Service Product Management, I am responsible for our training programs and spend a lot of time with customers. Since we can no longer travel, I wanted to offer help quickly and unbureaucratically, and our own ASM Academy has a lot to offer in this area.
How are the customers responding to Time4Academy? The response has been overwhelming. Electronics manufacturers appreciate that we have made registering and using the ASM Academy so easy and open, and they appreciate the diverse and technically in-depth course contents even more. Many are experiencing for the first time how e-learning, augmented reality and VR techniques can make learning easier, and they use the opportunity to refresh or deepen their knowledge.
Are any courses more popular than others? Among the most popular topics are courses in SIPLACE Pro programming environment and in creating component descriptions in the SIPLACE vision system. Many electronics manufacturers also seem to be using the time to carry out maintenance, because the video-based instructions and tutorials of the ASM Academy are also in high demand.
What’s next for the Time4Academy program? As we continue to steadily expand the offerings of the ASM Academy, we will provide even more courses featuring virtual and augmented reality. We will also offer introductory course on selected products like ASM printers and placement machines. In addition, our platform partner Docebo will provide more general courses. As you can see, the ASM Academy delivers real value with something for everyone.
Time4Academy
As the industry’s technology leader, ASMPT offers a broad portfolio of best-in-class products. Our solutions stand out with their perfect interaction of hardware, software and service components – powerful, smart, and ready to raise your production to a new level.