The University of Akron’s Zip To Industry program offers first-year science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors opportunities to shadow upperclass UA students already on cooperative education and internship assignments. Funded by the National Science Foundation, this research-based program studies whether first-year students who participate in job-shadowing are more likely to continue with their STEM majors than first-year students who do not receive the intervention.
During the 2020-2021 academic year, selected first-year students will complete between five and ten different, virtual company visits in which they are paired, one-to-one, with a UA co-op/intern student on assignment at a partner employer. Through these shadowing experiences, first-year students discover what people employed in their areas of interest do on a typical workday, connect their UA coursework with real-world applications, and identify the skills they will need to succeed in STEM careers.
Applications for the 2020-2021 shadowing cohort have ended and a cohort will be selected in September 2020. Click For Information
2020-2021 Student Selection
Article: Shadowing Prepares STEM Students
Grant Award Announcement
Zip To Industry: A First-Year Corporate-STEM Connection Program is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation, award 1726464. The program is an initiative from the College of Engineering and Polymer Science, the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, the LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education, and Career Services.
