Become An Industry Partner!

The program team welcomes employer interest in the job-shadowing program. Participating employers may host shadowing experiences on one or multiple days during the semester. The first-year students rotate between shadowing experiences, so industry partners have a chance to meet multiple first-year students!

What's Involved?

Companies that host job-shadowing experiences should employ UA STEM students in cooperative education, internships, or similar assignments, or have recent UA graduates. The UA co-op/intern will serve as mentor to the first-year student during the shadowing experience. Training information will be provided to employers interested in participating.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all 2020-2021 shadowing will be virtual. Each shadowing experience will last for up to two hours. One hour will be exclusively with the mentor (co-op or intern), while the other hour (if applicable) will be an opportunity for additional staff to provide information about the company. 

• The hour with the mentor  The mentor and first-year student will meet one-to-one via a virtual platform. Mentors should share:
  • a description of current projects
  • classwork connections to their placement
  • how they secured their co-op/internship
  • how they overcame challenges in academics or during their co-op/internship experience
  • how they set goals

• The additional time (up to one hour) is at the company’s discretion  Employers are encouraged to join the mentor and first-year student for part of the virtual shadowing experience. Options for activities include, but are not limited to:
  • a greeting and introduction to the company
  • a virtual tour of the workplace or worksite
  • a video or prepared presentation
  • a demonstration
  • other approaches that allow the company to educate the student about their culture, industry, etc.

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Interested?

Contact the program's coordinator, Erin Stevic, for more details at estevic@uakron.edu.
 

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will a first-year student visit the same employer every week?

No. A first-year student will shadow a new co-op/intern during each shadowing experience, visiting several different employers over the course of the academic year.

 

Will my company be required to host a first-year student every week?

No. While companies are asked to host students as often as possible, the program team will work with each employer to determine the number of first-year students the company can accommodate.

 

Which co-op/intern students can become a mentor?

All UA co-op/intern students can serve as mentors, although employers will make the final decision about which co-op/intern students are shadowed. A co-op/intern student will not be required to serve as a mentor if he or she is not willing or available to participate

How will co-op/ intern students know what to do / talk about during visits?

The program team will train participating co-op/intern students, helping them identify the types of activities and  conversations that should occur during the shadowing experience. Training will not interrupt the employees’ work, but will take place during the summer, holiday breaks, and online. Employers will receive the training materials given to shadowed employees along with additional program information.

 

Will first year-students and co-op/intern students provide program feedback?  Can employers see that feedback?

Each first-year student and co-op/intern will take a short, online survey following every shadowing experience. The program team will keep employers informed about program feedback and other updates.