Engineering firms are the ultimate consumer of the product that academia produces—new graduates—and as such have a vested interest in the effectiveness of their academic training. NCSEA Member Organizations (MOs) throughout the country are in a unique position to team with educators to enhance the education of structural engineering and architectural engineering students. Educators are often looking for opportunities to expose students to the practice of structural engineering and to bring “real world” engineering projects into the classroom. What are ways that MOs can be involved with the programs that are producing these new graduates? As members of the Academia-Practice Partnerships (APP) Committee, we are often asked how MOs can become more involved with the colleges and universities located within their regions. Both academia and practitioners have a vested interest in the outcome of new graduates as they transition from students to EITs and beyond. One of the APP Committee’s initiatives is to foster college student and practitioner engagement. This has included efforts to learn more about what successful interactions between academia and practitioners look like. While many of these ideas are conventional, hopefully one or two of them may spark an interest in you and/or your MO that can lead to increased connectivity.
During a recent poll of Member Organizations, we documented the following ways that MOs throughout the country have engaged with students and colleges/universities:
Time/Expertise
- Host MO-wide career fairs
- Hold Joint Design Competitions
- Serve as student advisors on capstone projects
- Develop specific programs targeting students and early career professionals. One such program is SEAOC’s SE Pathways to the Profession which focuses on engagement, retention, and equity for students & early career professionals.
- Provide speakers (and often food) for Student Chapter Meetings
- Host panel discussions on various topics in engineering
- Lead discussions on licensure for practicing engineers
- Provide opportunities to shadow practitioners
- Host speed mentoring sessions with students
- Participate in resume workshops for students
- Host an Industry Day
- Serve as guest speakers at colleges/universities
- Host jobsite visits for classes
Financial
- Sponsor NCSEA student chapters on campus
- Pay for students to attend state/national conferences
- Cover dues for students and faculty to join their local MO and/or NCSEA
- Provide internships
If any of these ideas look like something that you would like to pursue, your first question may be how do we go about setting something like this up? First, you can reach out directly to the college or university. If you don’t have an established point of contact with one already, we suggest checking out that school’s website. Often with a little digging, it is possible to find a list of professors along with their areas of interest. At the APP, we usually look for professors who teach primarily structural courses to serve as our first point of contact. If this approach isn’t working, we note that MOs can reach out to the APP. As part of our curriculum survey, we have collected points of contact with most of the over 300 ABET accredited institutions in the U.S., and we are happy to share this information with MOs looking to make connections.
Once contact is made, discussions can begin by asking your point of contact what support they need from practitioners to enhance their students’ education experience. Remember, while you may have suggestions and ideas that you are excited about, this is about developing a long-term relationship with these programs and the needs of the program may necessitate putting your interests on hold while these first needs are addressed.
Another path to connection with colleges and universities is to start a student chapter. Additional resources for this can be found on the Young Member Support Page of the NCSEA website www.ncsea.com/engage/committees/young-member-support/. At the bottom of the webpage is a link to the Student Chapter Outreach Guide.
Ultimately, it is in all our best interests to foster strong relationships with the colleges and universities within our territories in order to have a positive impact on the education of future structural/architectural engineers. One of the best ways to do this is to engage with schools to find out how we can enhance students’ experience and learning outcomes. These interactions are often very rewarding for the students as well as the practitioners. Investing time and resources into today’s students (and sometimes pizza money) will lead to better student outcomes and strengthen the future of our profession.
About the Authors
Scott M. Francis, PE, is a Vice President at Lynch Mykins Structural Engineers, PC, a structural firm located in the Southeast (sfrancis@lynchmykins.com)
Chad S. Mitchell, PE, SE, is an Associate Principal and Department Manager with S.A. Miro Inc a civil and structural firm located in the Rocky Mountain Region.
(cmitchell@samiro.com)