Engineering Students
|
Utilities
|
Mission: To sponsor educational incentives and programs to attract, retain and support top technology talent for the critical electric, water, and natural gas industries.
Vision: An abundance of skilled and passionate talent transforming these critical industries through technology.
Vision: An abundance of skilled and passionate talent transforming these critical industries through technology.
The Workforce...
The UTC Foundation (UTCF) was formed to help solve the workforce challenge facing utilities and critical infrastructure technology providers. Electric, gas, and water utilities deploy sophisticated communications networks to support and enhance their critical services. As technology advances with customer expectations, the sophistication of these networks is also evolving. Utilities need technology professionals who share the industry’s public-service mantra.
The Students...
Like many industries, the aging workforce in the utility sector is a key concern. Therefore, the Foundation will engage with college students at UTC’s national and regional events, held throughout the country each year. Students attending these events learn first-hand how important and complex these networks are at each utility. They see the latest technology on display and ask questions directly to those responsible for developing and deploying these networks.
From the utility perspective, this interaction provides opportunities to discuss their careers, answer questions, and provide their unique perspective about working in and around the industry. These engagements can result in job opportunities for those students getting ready to graduate.
But don’t just take our word for it! Below are real-life interactions with students who have attended UTC events over the last year—including one student who is now employed by the industry!
From the utility perspective, this interaction provides opportunities to discuss their careers, answer questions, and provide their unique perspective about working in and around the industry. These engagements can result in job opportunities for those students getting ready to graduate.
But don’t just take our word for it! Below are real-life interactions with students who have attended UTC events over the last year—including one student who is now employed by the industry!
Allen Golan is a Computer Science major at Portland State University and an intern at Portland General Electric. He attended the 2021 UTC Telecom & Technology Conference in Portland, OR, UTC's annual event.
Bryan Rothchild attended a UTC regional meeting. He had previously been a summer intern at CenterPoint Energy. His visit to the UTC event made him even more excited about entering the utility industry. Bryan is now an electrical engineer at CenterPoint Energy:
“…UTC is a wonderful place to network with a diverse group of individuals from a wide variety of companies. During my visit, I met many new people, including a few who work at the same company as me now! My only regret is that I did not make more connections than I did, because there were so many friendly people willing to talk to and connect with anyone who attended. .. My visit to UTC made me eager to start my career in the utility industry. I would not trade that excitement for anything!”
Alex Cash (University of Texas at Arlington) and Luis Nieves (Prairie View A&M University) both attended the 2019 UTC Telecom & Technology Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Here is a sampling of what each of them had to say about their visit to the Annual Conference.
What was your favorite part of the conference?
Alex – “My favorite part of the conference was the exhibit hall. It was nice to be able to check out what I was interested and was the most informative part of the conference for me.”
Luis – “The showing of all different types of companies in this industry.”
Alex – “My favorite part of the conference was the exhibit hall. It was nice to be able to check out what I was interested and was the most informative part of the conference for me.”
Luis – “The showing of all different types of companies in this industry.”
Would you recommend this conference to other students?
Alex – “I definitely would. I had fun and learned a lot. This helped me figure out what direction I want to take my career. No down sides. Definitely a worthwhile experience.”
Luis – “Yes I would, because it’s a great opportunity for an individual.”
Alex – “I definitely would. I had fun and learned a lot. This helped me figure out what direction I want to take my career. No down sides. Definitely a worthwhile experience.”
Luis – “Yes I would, because it’s a great opportunity for an individual.”
Mary Zhang, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Gonzaga University attended a UTC event in Spokane, Washington. This is her experience: “UTC provides students in electrical engineering a great opportunity to meet experienced engineers in the electrical industry. Moreover, some managers share their resume screening and interviewing process, which definitely helps students make better preparation for the interview.”