Engineering technology students at PennWest California are gaining valuable experience in preparation for the job market, and that experience has been paying off with job offers.
Partnerships have been established with area businesses, providing students with real-world career exposure and exploration, as well as internships, job shadowing and networking events.
Representatives of the businesses serve as sponsors for senior projects, serve on advisory boards that connect to curriculum and participate in and host work-based learning experiences, which combine classroom instruction with practical work experience.
“We’re working with employers to understand what their needs are,” said Melissa Dean, work-based learning experiences coordinator. “They’re working with us so they can bring those needs to students.”
Part of a five-year, $2.1 million grant received from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III Strengthening Institutions Program has helped fund these work-based learning experiences.
“As part of our Title III grant, one of the competitive preference priorities was work-based learning experiences in high demand STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) fields,” explained Dr. Brenda Fredette, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, as well as Title III program director.
Two engineering technology advisory boards comprised of industry partners – mechatronics engineering technology and electrical and computer engineering technology – provide industry feedback on curriculum and review senior projects.
“We focus on turning out graduates who are ready to hit the ground running when they graduate and go to the industry,” said Dr. Jennifer Wilburn, associate professor and chair of the Department of Applied Engineering, Technology and Physics. “A big part of that is being very interactive with our advisory boards and making sure the curriculum contains the skill sets industry partners are looking for.”
In many cases, industry partners sponsor the senior projects, which are then presented to advisory board members. The end result is often a job offer from the industry partner.
“It gives the advisory board a real inside look at the kinds of projects our students are capable of accomplishing, the kind of graduates we are producing in the program,” Wilburn said.
Speed Networking and Recruitment events provide students a chance to meet with representatives from various companies.
“The employer wants one-on-one time,” Dean said. “We cooked up this speed networking and recruitment event as a way to try to deal with the number of employers we have that want to visit.”
One employer that has had success with PennWest California students is Sensus, which provides smart technologies and services for water, gas, electric and lighting utilities.
Scott Swanson, manager of Sensus’ Uniontown location, serves on the mechatronics program advisory board. He said he’s hired two graduates from the mechatronics program and two more who will graduate in May are interviewing for full-time positions.
“This mechatronics degree fits perfectly with what I need,” Swanson said. “We do anything that fits with manufacturing and the kids that come out of this program are very suited for this. They’re well-prepared for what we need them for.”
Sensus sponsors a senior project each year. Swanson said he picks out a project that challenges the students but is not needed by his company immediately.
“They get some good hands-on experience and I get to evaluate these kids, and if I have an opening, I see if any of them are a good fit for me,” Swanson said. “I’m a big supporter of this program and plan to be for a long time.”
Julietta Maffeo, a 2022 graduate who majored in mechatronics engineering technology and electrical engineering technology, was able to land an internship, then a job as an automation engineer with DMI Companies in Monongahela.
“I think the fact that I had two majors helped for my job specifically because I pulled a lot of information from both,” she said. “I was very prepared. I definitely think they did a good job of teaching me what I need to know. One of the biggest things for interviews for engineering is getting people with hands-on skills.”
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