A Model for Successful Engineering Internship:
Growing Our Own Future Engineers
January 2007
Dr. Mary Ann Malloy, The MITRE Corporation
ABSTRACT
UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute reported there has been a 60 percent drop in
science and engineering majors among incoming college freshmen since the year 2000.
Competition for the dwindling number of graduating entry-level engineers is fierce. At the same
time, the academic experience of engineering rarely emulates what students can expect in the
real world. Students need relevant work opportunities to validate their career plans while
keeping them engaged in their engineering degree programs. Two years ago, we established an
Internship Program to respond to both sides of this challenge. Internship expands the concept of
training beyond enhancing the skills of existing staff, to include a company making a training
investment in student engineers they might like to hire full-time someday. In this paper, we
provide a template for our successful Internship Program as a model for other employers who
would like to "grow their own" entry-level engineers.
Additional Search Keywords
N/A
|
