Indiana State University is partnering with France-based transportation and logistics provider GEODIS on a new space at the Made @ Plainfield higher education and workforce training center. Officials on Friday cut the ribbon on the Logistics 4.0 Innovation Hub, which is designed to train individuals in artificial intelligence, machine learning and logistics management.
ISU says the center’s goal is to create opportunities for both post-secondary students and people currently in the workforce by providing enhanced skills and credentials.
GEODIS has more than 150 locations across the US, including multiple warehouses in the Plainfield area and one in Clayton. The company employs about 12,000 people nationwide.
Senior Director of Operations David Brooks said in written remarks that the partnership will “connect the capabilities and capabilities we have at GEODIS with the capabilities and teaching they have at ISU.”
ISU’s Made @ Plainfield efforts are led by Terry Daugherty, dean of the Scott College of Business and Associate Professor Dr. Kuntal Bhattacharyya.
The partners expect to open a mini-prototype warehouse using robotics for research, teaching and student tours in early 2023.
The university says it also expects to offer courses for certificate and degree programs in fields including MBA, healthcare, cybersecurity and information technology.
“The most important objective that holds us together in a common bond is the idea of creating the next generation of business leaders,” Bhattacharyya said.
Made @ Plainfield, which opened in July 2021, is a 100,000-square-foot facility that was created in partnership between the Plainfield Community School Corp., the Town of Plainfield, Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University.
