Industry Partners | Master of Engineering Management | NC State University

Engaging with our industry partners is a critical part of the Engineering Management degree program and contributes greatly to the future success of our students. There are several ways for you to engage with our program:

• Share your experience and wisdom with our students as a Think and Lead Seminar speaker
• Solve one of your engineering problems by sponsoring a student project (practicum)

Think and Lead Seminar Speaker

Each week during the spring and fall semesters, we host a guest speaker as part of our Think and Lead Seminar Series. Industry professionals speak with our students about various professional development topics ranging from networking skills to resume reviews to interviewing skills and much more.

More Information

For more information or how to become a Think and Lead seminar speaker, please feel free to contact our program coordinator.

Practicum Sponsorship

The MEM program continually seeks opportunities to work with new industry partners and in new industry segments. We’re seeking industry partners like you that are interested in sponsoring a team project. You identify a challenging business problem and provide information for the student team. Our students will analyze and use your data to solve that problem.

Basic Requirements

The proposal consists of two components:

• A concise description of your problem and the goal of the project
• The names of the key contacts within your organization

Team Assignments

Students are assigned to teams based on their skills, experience, and compatibility to fit the needs of your project. With a team leader appointed by us, the team members accept specific roles for themselves.

Our students are equipped with a variety of skills and professional experience. Each team will have skills in:

• Statistics
• Database application
• Computer programming
• Simulation modeling
• Lean Six Sigma

Students also receive instruction in project management, communication skills and teamwork.

Project Selection

Projects are selected based on how your proposal fits with the overall educational goals of the MEM program. It is helpful – but not required – for you to have experience working with universities: specifically with sponsoring student projects. The main criteria used to select projects include:

• Educational value
• Likelihood of success
• Level of challenge and complexity
• Clarity of project goals
• Sponsor motivation and commitment
• Accessibility to specialized software tools, if needed

We aim to select a variety of projects each year. If a viable proposal is not selected in the current round, it can be placed in a queue for future assignments.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a key element of our projects. Unlike a master’s thesis, the practicum does not have a public disclosure requirement. Only members of the team have access to your data. You should not, under any circumstances, provide personally identifiable information and should only share data in a manner that is consistent with your third-party data transfer governance rules.

Students receive instruction in data privacy, security, and non-disclosure agreement (NDA) law. Because students are not employees of the University, they must individually consent to your NDA before being assigned to a project.

Sponsor Commitments

As a sponsor, you are required to:

• Provide the NDA to be signed by the student team
• Assign a liaison, who will be the team’s primary point of contact to resolve issues as they may arise
• Provide technical and strategic guidance to ensure the project remains on the desired course
• Host the team for the kick-off and/or final presentation on-site, if possible.

You are not expected to provide ongoing project management and oversight, We do that.

Sponsorship Fees

There is no fee charged to sponsor a practicum project. However, we recognize there is a cost involved in participating in terms of the time and effort required by individuals sponsoring a project.

We would be grateful to you for deferring all or part of the travel expenses, if any, to have the student team visit your location for the kick-off meeting and/or final presentation.

Proposal Submission

Proposals are submitted online and accepted throughout the year, but we are always ready to begin a dialogue with you at any time. There are two formal reviews with submission deadlines. Once a proposal receives the green light, it’s placed in the queue for the next round of project kick-offs. Proposals submitted early in the annual cycle have the best chance of acceptance. You may submit more than one proposal.

More Information

For more information about becoming a practicum project sponsor, please feel free to contact our program coordinator.