School of Engineering Offering New Co-Op Education Program

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has launched its first co-operative education program.

It allows engineering students who have completed the junior year to supplement their academic work with nearly a year of paid, full-time work experience in their chosen fields at engineering firms.

Representatives of companies interested in hiring students in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences cooperative education program are invited to an informational breakfast meeting to be held on Feb. 18 at 8:15 a.m. in the Center for Tomorro w on the UB North (Amherst) campus. For reservations, call Marie Huber at 645-2422 ext. 1212.

Participation in the co-op program will extend by only half a year the time it takes for students to get their four-year degrees. Meanwhile, they will gain the perspective and experience that only full-time employment can provide.

"Both our corporate partners and our students have asked if we could build enough flexibility into our academic program to allow for creation of a co-op program," said Mark H. Karwan, Ph.D., dean of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "W e are proud to announce this major initiative beginning this summer."

He noted that a unique aspect to UB¹s engineering co-op program is the UB Engineering Career Institute, which will be mandatory for all co-op students.

The institute, now in its third year, provides students with intensive "boot camp" type classes during which industry leaders teach students important corporate survival skills not covered in academic coursework.

ECI will continue to offer summer employment experiences for engineering students who have completed their junior year.

"The pre-employment classroom work involved in the Engineering Career Institute affords our students the opportunity to learn the soft skills they¹ll need to be successful on the job, such as teamwork, leadership, entrepreneurialism, problem-solving, t ime-management, communications and total quality management," said Karwan.

During the co-op experience, each student could earn as much as $18,000 while gaining the perspective and experience that only full-time employment can provide.

This summer, students in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who have completed the junior year will be eligible.

The first co-op work experience will begin June 9 and run through September, the second begins in September and runs through mid-January and the third runs from mid-May until the end of August.

In its first year, the program will concentrate on companies in Western New York. The school plans eventually to include other companies throughout the state and the U.S.

For information on the co-op program, contact Mike Ryan in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences dean¹s office at 645-2774; for information on the Engineering Career Institute contact Dean Millar, also in the dean¹s office, at 645-2768.