Programs
Professional Preparation
The Women's Engineering Program helps prepare students for a productive career by facilitating networking with professionals and corporations. Past Professional Preparation activities have included: Shadow an Engineer, Evening With Industry, Team Tech, Industry Tours, Resume Book, and MentorNet. Recently the Women's Engineering Program has established an Industrial Advisory Board that assists WEP in connecting students with the corporate world. See What's New for schedule of upcoming activities.
Shadow an Engineer
The Shadow an Engineer program is held during Cal Poly spring break. Students are scheduled to visit the companies of their choice, one per day, and spend the day "shadowing" an engineer. Students have the opportunity to learn first hand what engineers do and how companies function. Experiences such as this help bridge the gap between classroom theory and practical engineering applications, and may also lead to future job opportunities.
Evening With Industry
The Evening With Industry banquet is designed to facilitate the career development process by encouraging interaction between industry representatives and students in the relaxed atmosphere of dinner. The evening includes a keynote presentation of interest to both men and women, and an awards ceremony showcasing women in engineering at Cal Poly. The banquet operates with a budget around $18,000 and is a sell-out with about 400 students, faculty, administrators, and company representatives in attendance. The banquet, which is a highlight of Cal Poly's National Engineer's Week celebration, is a powerful advertisement for the College of Engineering in general and for women in engineering in particular.
Evening With Industry Banquet
April 25, 2005
Team Tech
The annual Team Tech competition, sponsored by Boeing, emphasizes the key role of teamwork in the engineering education process. This yearlong competition consists of students organizing as a team and selecting a project and corporate sponsor in the fall. Then the team works with their sponsor on the project throughout the academic year, culminating in the presentation of their project for judging at the SWE National Convention held every June. This project enables students from all disciplines and levels of engineering to gain hands-on experience beyond the classroom and to work closely within a multi-disciplinary team.
2006-2007 Team Tech Project: Weld Inspection Device
Sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering
Resume Book
Each year SWE compiles Cal Poly SWE student resumes into a Resume Book. This book is marketed to engineering employers and given to all of the companies that attend Evening With Industry. All SWE members are encouraged to submit resumes for the Resume Book. Resumes reflect interests in summer, co-op, and career positions.
MentorNet
MentorNet is an electronically based mentoring program created to promote retention of women engineering students. MentorNet connects women studying engineering and related sciences with mentors in industry. In the fall, students and engineers in industry sign up to participate in the program. Then students are matched with mentors and the pairs communicate via email. Students receive encouragement, advice, information, and insights, while sharing a sense of community with professionals in their chosen fields. Last year, the inaugural year of the program, positive feedback was reported from the Cal Poly students that participated.
