Opportunities for hands-on training and experiential learning have long been key strengths of undergraduate engineering programs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Beginning this fall, UAB’s School of Engineering is making those opportunities an official part of its undergraduate programs by offering guaranteed internships to all incoming students following their second year of engineering coursework.
To be eligible for a guaranteed internship, students must participate in the Career Readiness Program, a new initiative launched this fall by the SOE Office of Career Services.
“Our location in Birmingham gives us a great advantage over other schools because there are so many local companies that hire students for engineering internships and co-ops,” said SOE Dean Jeff Holmes, M.D., Ph.D. “With so many companies headquartered within minutes of campus, we realized there is an opportunity here for us to make a guarantee that few engineering schools in the country can match.”
To make an official guarantee, Holmes says, he first had to make sure of two things: that there were enough opportunities for students in all UAB’s undergraduate engineering majors, and that students would be adequately prepared to provide value to the companies through their work as interns.
For the first requirement, Holmes looked to Career Services Director Desland Robinson, who over the past seven years has placed UAB Engineering students in hundreds of jobs with more than 165 engineering companies. “We already knew that an average of 60 percent or more of our students were participating in internships each year,” Robinson said. “In some fields, such as civil engineering, that percentage was already much higher. It was lower in other fields such as biomedical engineering, where many of our students focus on laboratory research in preparation for graduate or medical school.”
Recognizing the importance of those research experiences, Robinson worked to integrate those opportunities into the guaranteed internship program, while simultaneously reaching out to alumni to expand our network of corporate internships.
In parallel with expanding their list of internship opportunities, the Career Services team considered how to best prepare students for the experience. To that end, Robinson worked with Career Services Assistant Director Molly Kate Lallone to develop the Career Readiness Program.
“This program ensures that our students are fully prepared to experience a professional work environment so they can get the most out of their internship,” Lallone said. “Students will be required to attend one Career Preparedness Seminar each semester. We will also work with them to create opportunities for alumni mentoring, job shadowing, networking, and other activities to help them become career-ready.”
Students who complete the Career Readiness Program will receive certificates granting them eligibility for a guaranteed internship in their field of choice. Companies where students intern and co-op are Altec, American Cast Iron Pipe Company, BioHorizons, Brasfield & Gorrie, Honda, Fluid Solutions, LBYD, Medtronic, Mercedes, Southern Company/Alabama Power amongst others.
“Hands-on, real-world experience is important for engineering students for many reasons,” Holmes said. “Students have opportunities to find their passion and decide which disciplines and professional roles are the best fit for them. Students will take the knowledge they gain from the classroom and apply it in the field through these internships. The program introduces them to local companies and contacts, often leading to job offers when — or even before — they graduate.”
His pitch to future engineers? “Most of us go into engineering because we want to help shape the world around us, so why wait until you graduate? Come to UAB and start building your future — and ours — now.”
