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Urdu“We’re really excited about this collaboration,” says Dr. Kristin Weger, an associate professor of psychology at UAH, a part of The University of Alabama System. “It’s not only giving our students valuable field experience, but also sparking research that could benefit MTM and the local workforce in meaningful ways. This collaboration demonstrates how UAH is becoming more integrated with key industries within the Huntsville community, turning the university into a thriving hub for innovation where academic research meets practical, real-world application.”
The original connection between UAH and MTM grew out of relationships established by UAH ISEEM faculty fully two years before the automotive assembly facility began operations in Sept. 2021.
“My involvement with MTM began through my role as the Director of the Alabama Technology Network (ATN)’s Huntsville Center,” explains Dr. Nicholas Loyd, a clinical assistant professor with ISEEM and director of the UAH Center for Management and Economic Research in UAH’s College of Business. “The ATN is the state’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership entity and provides me with federal and state funding to deliver services to manufacturing companies and Alabama businesses. Since 2019, my team at UAH has supported MTM in various projects and endeavors.”
That support has included seven projects linked to the ATN Huntsville center that involved various UAH research staff and faculty, including partnering with the ATN Center in Tuscaloosa to offer 57 internships for 30 UAH students representing seven different majors. Additionally, the partnership has resulted in research collaborations involving ISEEM and psychology students and faculty, as well as partnering in various industry associations and workforce development events, such as the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association.
The programs have proved to be so successful, the manufacturing company soon looked to UAH to provide additional avenues to advance employee training and performance.
“In spring 2024, MTM Human Resources Development (HRD) management approached me about a need for training in the area of emotional intelligence,” Loyd explains. “I immediately engaged Dr. Weger to discuss how to approach this. Dr. Weger and I co-developed a two-day training course to be delivered as part of MTM’s LEAD and NAVIGATE leadership academy training programs. MTM has expressed an interest in having the course offered on a routine basis going forward.”
Emotional intelligence training for businesses is designed to help employees, particularly leaders, develop the ability to better understand and manage their own emotions, as well as recognize and respond appropriately to the emotions of others, ultimately leading to improved communication, teamwork and overall workplace effectiveness. “Both Dr. Loyd and I developed training for MTM on emotional intelligence that we have taught in waves throughout the year,” says Dr. Weger. To date, the training has been delivered five times to 49 employees.
“This is all being done in the process of creating a program that will more effectively train employees and provide them with a roadmap to get them where they want to be,” says Luke Symasek, an industrial/organizational psychology graduate at UAH. “The program is very employee-centered, and it has been very fulfilling to have the opportunity to help with it.” Symasek recently served as an MTM intern and plans to continue research related to his MTM experience in graduate school.
“The support at MTM has been incredible, and it is clear to me that MTM cares a lot about its employees,” the student notes. “This partnership has opened up exciting hands-on research projects as well for our psychology students to apply for internships at MTM, which started in summer through fall 2024, and now spring 2025.”
Sabrina Adhami, a UAH psychology student, worked over summer 2024 for MTM as their Human Resources Development intern.
“The goal was to create a learning culture throughout the company and increase team member knowledge about HRD,” Adhami notes. “I connected with members of other departments to determine what trainings should be completed by each team member before they become eligible for promotion, along with analyzing the responses of a survey that I created and distributed about company perceptions of HRD.
“I also had many opportunities to shadow areas such as promotion interviews and team leader trainings, as well as going onto the floor in different shops to see the production process and speak with team members about their experiences,” Adhami says. “I had a great time working with the HRD team and am excited to apply this experience to my future involvement in industrial/organizational psychology.”
So much so, Adhami has extended her research as part of her Honors Capstone project and plans to continue this work into graduate school. Her Honors Thesis addresses understanding employee performance and retention through workplace attitudes and behaviors.
“Increasing employee performance and retention can play a key role in company productivity and costs,” the UAH researcher says. “Studies have found a decrease in productivity and an increase in company costs within organizations that struggle with low employee performance and low employee retention as well. This current study analyzes the company’s retention rates and determines if there is a connection to employee performance.
