By Rachel Robertson
Even in a sluggish economy, industries are still struggling to recruit computer science graduates. So, keeping students interested throughout their education is a common goal for both industry and educators.
Engaging the best talent as freshman is the aim of the Intel Learning Company (ILC), a joint project by the Intel Corporation and OSU’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Supervised by faculty members Carlos Jensen and Kevin McGrath, the students work in teams on real projects to gain valuable work-ready skills in programming, teamwork and leadership.
“We’re really emphasizing experiential learning and challenging students beyond what they can do right now,” said Terri Fiez, head of EECS.
Armed with their new skills, ILC students found summer work programming, teaching, performing research and community outreach. Students credited the ILC with helping to secure opportunities and be successful in their positions. They applied their lessons in networking, communication skills, problems solving, and workflow, and found having a broader range of experiences with programming languages made them more employable.
