At RMU, your engineering education will not be confined to classrooms or laboratories. We require all engineering students to complete a three-credit academic internship sometime between their sophomore and senior years. This means that every engineering student gets a taste of working in the profession before graduation.

The experience is an eye-opener for many, when perhaps for the first time they are able to connect the theory taught in the classroom to the practice of engineering in the workplace. With assistance from RMU faculty and staff, students go into the workplace to test their engineering skills in an appropriate industry setting.

Read on to see what students say about the experience, where they worked, what their employers said about them, and how the faculty feels about the value of the internship in the engineering program at Robert Morris University.

[Student testimonials, based on admissions student journals template]

Student Testimonials

"I learned what it is like to work for a smaller consulting firm. I consider my experiences at Target Systems to be invaluable. One day I would like to start my own business that is similar in nature to that of Target Systems. I also learned many new techniques and software applications such as the development of web- bases applications and pages, software validation and verification (crucial skills for my major) and what it is like to work day-to-day in an office." -Amanda Calik, intern, Target Systems

"I believe that overall my experiences at PLS during the summer were the most rewarding. I learned so much about the transportation industry and had no idea how encompassing logistics is." -David Fagley, intern, Pittsburgh Logistics Systems

"I worked in the voice telecommunications department, designing, maintaining and implementing the intranet site. I also assisted in screening and problem solving the voice help desk for the entire Pittsburgh headquarters of U.S. Steel. I served as the department's computer support personnel. When something broke on their computers I troubleshot and tried to keep everything running. Lastly, I was responsible for setting up the macros, script and coding necessary to prepare mainframe data processing." -Michael King, intern, U.S. Steel

"My RMU engineering education paved the way for me to have two internship experiences. It was great to be out working in the real world of engineering prior to receiving my degree." -Christopher Tully, intern, Westinghouse E.M.D. and J&L Specialty Steel

"With the assistance of Dr. Derya Jacobs, I applied and was accepted into NASA's prestigious LARRS (Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars) program as an undergraduate fellow researcher. Many of the courses that I completed at RMU provided me with the tools and skills necessary to succeed at this experience. I had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of tasks that tested me as a student, enlightened me as a software engineer and gave me a focus for the future." -Casey Kretschman, intern, NASA's LARSS program (pictured above left)

"There are so many brilliant people here (at NASA), but not all of them have the skills to convey their ideas efficiently. In this regard I feel that an RMU student far exceeds the rest." -Nicole Gulan, intern, NASA's LARSS program (pictured above right)

Employers

"Amanda (Calik) proved to be an excellent intern. She had an excellent attitude and was willing to tackle any task assigned. She was well prepared technically to support any IT task." E. Wayne Jeffreys, Target Systems

"David (Fagley) was a quick learner, adaptable to change, had a good attitude and worked well with others as a team member." Valerie Scott, Pittsburgh Logistics Systems

"Mike's (King) main strengths were his technical skills dealing with maintaining intranet web pages. He was flexible in accepting and managing assignments." Nils Aunes, U.S. Steel

"The Midland plant managers were very impressed with Chris Tully's enthusiasm, ability and technical expertise." P.J. Wright, J&L Specialty Steel

"Anthony (Reichenbauch) consistently demonstrated maturity and confidence in himself and his assignments." ~William J. Grove, Wilcox Bros. Co.

"I was very pleased with RMU's program and look forward to continuing it next summer." Jim Belardi, CENTRIA

"He (Dave Timczyk) overall has been an excellent intern, and I will be keeping him on for the next semester." Brian Thyen, Moderne Glass Co.

"Andrew (Palko) used techniques, skills and modern engineering tools learned at Robert Morris to complete his summer internship with our company." William K. Cooper, Bombardier Transportation

"Casey (Kretschman) spent the summer as an electronic / software engineering intern at the Science and Technology Center of our company. One of his assignments was to serve as a third-party verifier of a new product. In summary, Casey's contribution was significant." Dr. Joseph C. Engel, Eaton / Cutler-Hammer

Chris's (Tully) main strengths were a willingness to undertake new and challenging assignments, working to completion, and a calm, self-confident manner that allowed him to deal with a wide spectrum of people including co-workers, union members and management." Bobbi Ferguson, Electro-Mechanical Division, Westinghouse

"The experience validates the traditional course content in a way that even our best professors cannot begin to approach. Knowledge that was fuzzy in the classroom becomes clear and relevant." ~John Hayward, Ph.D., P.E., Engineering Department Head

"An internship is a great way for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in an academic setting to problems experienced in an industrial environment. This is an extremely valuable enrichment experience for our students." ~Winston F. Erevelles, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Engineering

"Two of our software engineering students were accepted to NASA's Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars Program. Both commented how their RMU education prepared them for challenging projects and environments such as NASA. They knew how to work on team projects with people of diverse backgrounds. They knew how to communicate with their supervisors and, most importantly, they were able to prepare and present professional technical reports on their projects, which made them stand out." ~ Derya A. Jacobs, Ph.D., Dean, School of Business (former Professor of Engineering)

We match internship experiences with students' educational interests and plans of study. In addition, the location and timing must fit within the practical constraints of travel and living arrangements. Below is a partial list of our corporate internship partners.

• Bombardier Transportation
• Cellomics
• CENTRIA
• Eaton/Cutler-Hammer
• J&L Specialty Steel
• Moderne Glass Co.
• NASA
• Pittsburgh Logistics Systems
• PRIME
• Rockwell Software
• SPANG, Magnetics Division
• Target Systems
• Tate-Jones
• U.S. Steel
• Westinghouse E.M.D.
• Wilcox Bros.