The Boston College Career Center will hold the 2018 STEM Career and Internship Fair on October 17, hosting approximately 40 employers on campus to meet with students during the day, followed by an evening speaking program focused on design thinking—a partnering of career pathway development and academic programming being called STEM Design Day.
The career and internship fair for students will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Heights Room in Corcoran Commons. The speaking program, “Win By Design: What Does the Future of Work Hold?” will take place in the Heights Room from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The STEM career fair was launched in 2016 to assist students studying in disciplines or areas related to science, technology, environment, and mathematics. Without an engineering program, BC places an emphasis on its strengths in earth and environmental science.
The fair provides those students with a tailored opportunity to meet and network with employers in those fields, according to Associate Vice President for Student Affairs/ Career Services Joseph Du Pont.
The day begins with a breakfast symposium for businesses and corporate leaders about existing programs in the STEM fields and planning for the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, the centerpiece of a $150-million science facility slated to begin construction next year.
Visiting company representatives and recruiters will hear from Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley and Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas Chiles.
DuPont said the announcement of the Schiller Institute has created a unique opportunity for the Career Center, with the support from Provost’s Office, to collaborate with several new academic initiatives in STEM disciplines.
“It is a very exciting time,” says Du Pont. “We are seeing an increasing number of employers who want to recruit Boston College students specifically because they are studying societal problems at the intersection of science, energy, health care, and the environment. You don’t often see organizations like AstraZeneca, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, General Dynamics, the Peace Corps, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, EarthWatch Institute, and the United States Public Health Service attending the same event to meet the next generation of talent, but they will all be at the fair.”
The STEM Career and Internship Fair features organizations with full-time and internship opportunities in diverse STEM industries and/or job functions, including biotechnology, healthcare, life sciences, scientific research, technology, computer hardware/software, environment, energy, physical sciences, and “big data.”
The evening program is the inaugural event in the “Innovation Through Design Thinking” series, organized by the Office of the Provost, specifically Associate Vice Provost for Design and Innovation Strategies Sunand Bhattacharya. Keynote speaker Surya Vanka, founder of Authentic Design, Inc., will discuss how entrepreneurial initiatives in a range of fields achieve innovation. Vanka will then moderate a panel discussion with Donna Brezinski, M.D., CEO and founder of Little Sparrows Technologies Inc.; Benjamin Linder, director, Affordable Design Entrepreneurship, Olin College of Engineering; and Alison Kotin, senior interaction designer, Continuum Design Inc.
The panelists will discuss topics including the future of work and how students can enhance
career capabilities through interdisciplinary collaboration, the STEM disciplines, and a design-driven focus on innovation, said Bhattacharya.
The full agenda is available at the BC Career Center website.
–Ed Hayward | University Communications