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The School of Engineering continues to make a strong statement about engineering education through its Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP). In only its second year of a five-year pilot, UPOP has already doubled in size and is well on its way to its goal of reaching 60-80% of School of Engineering sophomores in the next several years. A total of 152 engineering sophomores participated in the intensive weeklong Introduction to Engineering Practice Workshop that was offered twice during the Independent Activities Period. “UPOP is clearly meeting a pent-up demand from our students to both learn about engineering practice and to come together to learn in an intensive collegial environment,” said Professor Thomas L. Magnanti, Dean of Engineering. “To have so many students voluntarily participate during IAP when the alternative activities are endless is concrete evidence of the success of UPOP,” said Professor Dick K. P. Yue, Associate Dean of Engineering and UPOP Faculty Director. Modeled after a corporate training seminar, the workshop engaged teams of students in case study and role-playing activities illustrating important issues in the practice of engineering. Students commit to five long days of exploring topics such as audience-specific communication, product specifications, interpersonal conflict, effective data representation, and process design. A team of faculty from several School of Engineering departments and the Sloan School of Management instructed the UPOP students with the assistance of experienced industry professionals, including many MIT alumni. On this year’s IAP Workshop, sophomore Ross Bland commented, “It was an excellent opportunity to network with people from many different sectors of industry and with MIT professors outside of my major.” UPOP Director Christopher Resto, an MIT alumnus and former strategy consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, says that the program “has become an outstanding vehicle for engaging alumni.” He continues, “It’s a win-win situation; students are eager to pick the brains of their MIT predecessors who have made things happen in all industries, and the alumni have been equally excited to contribute because they really believe we’re making an impact in undergraduate education.” Alumni involvement has been an important factor in the program’s success, not only with the IAP Workshop but also throughout activities in the spring and summer. Last spring UPOP held several seminars to further prepare students for practice in summer internships. Over 20 alumni assisted with resume critiques and mock interviews as well as participating in seminars on networking, how to manage your manager, and making the most of your internship. “Alumni are critical to UPOP reaching its goals,” Yue explains. He says that alumni “willing to come on campus and share their experience” are invaluable resources to students. And perhaps more importantly, they are able to contribute by partnering with UPOP to create “not just summer jobs but good opportunities for students to practice.” The “opportunities for practice” idea Yue mentions is strongly emphasized in the program’s recruiting efforts. UPOP works with each employer to ensure that their internships reinforce the concepts that are introduced during the IAP Workshop and revisited in spring seminars. This year, as a participant in the Kauffman Entrepreneurship Internship Program (KEIP), UPOP will also attempt to incorporate an entrepreneurial component into 25 internships with young companies. UPOP now faces the challenge of growing its employer base to match this year’s student enrollment. However, the program is in good position. Last spring 88% of UPOP students received offers in industries ranging from biotech to manufacturing to financial services. Furthermore, employers were extremely impressed with the performance of UPOP interns throughout their summer employment. Post-summer assessment found that 97% of UPOP employers would re-hire their UPOP student for the next summer. Clearly, employers value the training that UPOP provides MIT undergraduates. “I think the value of the UPOP program is unquestionable, both to the students participating and companies providing internships,” said Owen Johnson, MIT alumnus and co-founder of Interdimensions. “Our UPOP interns demonstrated solid understanding of what it meant to work in a professional environment, were well prepared, and worked hard to meet the challenges placed upon them during their summer work experience.” Jennifer Pinson, MIT alumna and engineer at General Electric Aircraft Engines, has similar thoughts. “As a recruiter, I see the impact of the UPOP training. The students are more prepared during the initial interview, more focused during their internship, and more willing to assume more responsibilities in the workplace. As an alumna, I wish UPOP had been in place when I was a student!" Resto is pleased with the employer feedback. As a former manager of recent MIT graduates, his perspective has been important in guiding the program. “I have seen first-hand the need for this training to empower students to hit the ground running immediately upon entering the workplace,” Resto states. “The skills that UPOP teaches are universal. They’re applicable to any job our students take on, regardless of whether it is engineering-related.” Looking forward to the summer, students have begun to appreciate the skills they are developing in UPOP. Sophomore Ethan Crumlin says that UPOP has illustrated many things he noticed at his internship last summer and hopes that the exposure UPOP provides will help him and other students “to recognize certain events early in the internship, so that we can actually take control and change things.” This summer students might change things about internships. In a few years though, they will change things about industries. It has been only one year since the program’s inception, and the UPOP staff is already receiving calls from employers inquiring about UPOP alumni. The School of Engineering is making a strong statement about engineering education—so strong, in fact, that the realization of Magnanti and Yue’s hopes that UPOP will become as well established at MIT as the highly successful Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) might be well within UPOP’s potential. For more information about UPOP, contact Christopher Resto : 617-452-5099. |
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