Students gain authentic experience through commemorative handbell project

Hands-on learning is at the heart of a UNI education, and that’s especially true for the industry-focused Department of Applied Engineering and Technical Management. But a special senior-level product design course gave students a unique opportunity to apply their skills.

In 2021, the UNI Foundation approached the department to produce one-of-a-kind commemorative brass handbells to recognize supporters of the university’s Our Tomorrow fundraising campaign while showcasing UNI students in the process. A total of 56 handbells were to be custom-cast in honor of new bells being added to the Campanile.

Matt Watson, ‘22, became the lead for the job, coordinating five separate teams with various roles ranging from bell design, casting and engraving to production of the wooden handles. It was a new type of leadership experience, Watson said, and it came with no shortage of challenges. But working as a student employee at John Deere gave him perspective. In conversations with his colleagues, he came to see the project as an “authentic experience” of what it’s like to work on an industry production job.

Watson was hired as a manufacturing engineer at John Deere Engine Works upon graduation. He looks back on his time at UNI with a new appreciation for faculty, especially when it comes to teaching concepts like 5S manufacturing and Industry 4.0.