Mission and Goals

The Worcester LEAP was developed as a collaboration between AIM Photonics, AIM Academy, QCC, WPI, the Mass Tech Collaborative through the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) and the Department of Defense. It will be part of a network of Labs for Education and Application Prototypes across MA, from Cambridge to the Berkshires. The equipment is being provided through funding by Mass Tech Collaborative through the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2).

The Lab for Education and Application Prototypes (LEAP) acts as a ‘teaching lab” for integrated photonics.The goals of the LEAP are to:

• teach integrated photonics manufacturing practice with the goal of building a skilled workforce at all levels, from technicians with associate degrees through PhDs performing research and developing new applications for the technology
• provide small and medium-size enterprises with technician training and certification
• provide local start-ups and small to medium-sized manufacturers with access to state-of-the-art equipment run by skilled workers, to help them prototype and scale up new product designs using integrated photonics technology
• support the AIM Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) and Test, Assembly and Packaging (TAP) hubs

AIM Academy's mission is to provide a skilled workforce for the integrated photonics industry. AIM Academy does this by:

• working with industry, academia and government to identify the skills needed at all levels of the workforce to support the integrated photonics industry
• supporting the development of curriculum to meet identified skill needs
• updating/improving the curriculum as the technology and applications evolve
• facilitating sharing of best practices among academic institutions