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Ventures Provides Students With Educational, Career Benefits
Successes emanating from Rose-Hulman Ventures the
past two years have meant more than the development of new products, services
and equipment. Those achievements have also been about the
educational and career benefits for Rose-Hulman students who work at Rose-Hulman
Ventures (RHV). Undergraduate and graduate students contribute
significantly to the technology and business development activities for
Rose-Hulman Ventures' clients. As part of its mission, Rose-Hulman Ventures
provides unique, valuable educational experiences for students.
Rachel Lukens, a Rose-Hulman electrical engineering major, said her Rose-Hulman
Ventures experience has made a difference in her education. "Working
at Rose-Hulman Ventures has changed my perspective on going to school. I
am applying what I've learned in class to a product that will be in the
marketplace and potentially be used by hundreds of people," said Lukens, a
junior from Terre Haute, Ind. Lukens worked on the development of a surgical
device that is a fully automated, minimally invasive, tissue removal system. The
device, developed by Suros Surgical Systems, Inc., of Franklin, Ind., currently
is used in the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease.
More than 100 students from Rose-Hulman, in addition to students from Indiana
University, Indiana State University, DePauw University, and Saint Mary
of-the-Woods College echo her opinion. They agree that working with a client
throughout a project's development, from concept to implementation, provides
valuable lessons.
"Classroom exposure is not always
enough," said Jim Eifert, president of Rose-Hulman Ventures. "The list
of required competencies for new engineering graduates is extensive and must
include demonstration of the ability to function on multidisciplinary teams, an
understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, and understanding of
the impact of engineering solutions in a broad social context. Team project work
with an external client is one of the very best ways to teach and learn many of
these concepts and achieve the necessary competencies."
Rose-Hulman alumnus Darin Schaeffer said his work at RHV was vital to his
successful search for his first full-time job.
Schaeffer, a 2001 mechanical engineering graduate, is a product
development engineer in Bloomington, Ind., for Cook Inc., a leader in developing
health care devices.
"I was exposed to new technologies while working on new products. This
experience helped to prepare me for a position in product development at
Cook," Schaeffer explained. "At Rose-Hulman Ventures, I was given the
freedom to develop my ideas based on objectives established by the client and
RHV engineers. The interaction helped to acclimate me to the working
relationships that one would expect when developing a product at a
company."
Schaeffer discovered in his interviewing process with various companies that
most employers look for students who are involved in activities and/or jobs
outside of their regular school schedule. "Working in an environment that
Rose-Hulman Ventures offers indicates to an employer that students are better
prepared to be productive early in their first job," he said.
Rose-Hulman Ventures is helping Indiana alleviate "the brain drain,"
that has occurred for years because the majority of Indiana's new engineering
graduates leave the state to begin their careers.
"These graduates are not leaving Indiana because they don't like
Indiana," explained Eifert. “They are leaving in pursuit of
economic and professional opportunities they perceive to be elsewhere. Our
students are beginning to realize that they can have those same opportunities in
Indiana and will be financially able to have a better lifestyle here with regard
to housing, schools, etcetera. Rose-Hulman
Ventures provides the focal point that Indiana needs to develop, attract, and
retain high-growth, high-tech businesses that will provide career opportunities
for its citizens and keep students in Indiana after graduation."
 
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