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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.
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Student Rachel
Lukens enjoys application of education to real-world problems. |
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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