Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1510765
26 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2023 up with MinnPoly out of Minnesota State Uni- versity, Mankato. e idea is to bring together the breadth and depth of the system so we can put those resources to bear with interesting problems and to train students. If we think about the surface mount space, technicians and engineers are needed. We don't want to just be trade schools, and we don't just want to be four-year schools either. It could be that somebody who is starting at a trade school really fits better somewhere else in the organization, or maybe they started a job somewhere and need to get promoted but they can't write. We're thinking about how we partner to support the organization in meeting their workforce needs long term. We have such a need for engaged, techni- cally competent, well-educated talent in our space. That's going to require—for lack of a better term—educational throughput. Sounds like you're making strides in this direction. Sort of, but I'd say that I am highly efficient for a small program. One of the challenges that my program has is scalability. It requires a lot of collaboration and thought logistics, if you will. We have to engage our constituents in many ways, and that can be chal- lenging. We want to meet the needs of those coming out of the community college, and we have an obligation to support the community college enrollment as an educational partner. It can be advantageous to the com- munity college to have some upper division student engineers there sup- porting and mentoring students. What does a prospective employer need to know about hiring grads today? Prospective employers need to rec- ognize passion. I'm continuing to hear this in my student engineers. ey want to add meaningful value to the world; they see problems with the world which are connecting to their motivation to solve problems. ey're kind of interested in making you money; they recognize that it's a necessary thing for them to do. But when they have the choice between two places, one that gives them fulfillment, and one that's just a job, their deep passion speaks up. ey have grown up knowing how to sort through information quickly. e number of channels of information is just out of control. What people have traditionally done is sat and looked deeply at something and gathered a vol- ume of information about the topic. For exam- ple, if the current generation can't find the infor- mation from one source quickly, they move through a series of sources. ere can be some disadvantages to that approach, but some real advantages as well. Long term, they will need some support in developing some of that depth. Rob, I appreciate you taking the time to share your insight. Great talking with you, Nolan. SMT007 See related interview with two student engineers, page 28.