Grace Koo, a first-year computer science and business major at Northeastern University’s Oakland campus, has an affinity for electric cars, especially those made by Tesla.
So when the opportunity arose to spend time with the company as part of her university’s experiential entrepreneurship program, she thought it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the automaker.
Now, if you ask Koo after the E-Trek how Tesla assembles its cars, she’ll give you a more detailed answer than most college freshmen.
She also brought a list of company contacts that she could use when applying for co-ops and jobs. Many of those contacts are Northeastern alumni.
That’s exactly the goal of this program, said Karima Omar, Northeastern University’s associate director of partnerships.
Launched last semester, the E-Trek program partners with Bay Area businesses to provide students with immersive, real-world experiences. Participants include Tesla, Block, SAP, Oakland Roots, Humane, and the Golden State Warriors.
This is the second time that Mr. Ku has participated in the program. Last semester, she learned from experts at PayPal, a financial technology company, and Port Labs, her business accelerator for startups.
“The whole E-Treks experience was really helpful for people like me,” Koo says. “As someone who doesn’t have huge connections to the big tech industry or the industry itself, I think this school provides equal opportunities for everyone.”
Like Koo, Jahanavi Sinha, a first-year computer science and economics major, also experienced Tesla this semester and PayPal and Port Labs last semester.
“I think it’s clear that Tesla is at the forefront of innovation, especially in the auto industry. [into consideration] “It’s an advance in self-driving technology,” she says. “It was really interesting to have the opportunity to see how they make these cars and how they work towards environmental sustainability.”
Sinha had the opportunity to interview graduates from the Northeast who work as engineers at the company’s facilities, which manufacture cars and humanoid robots.
“Being able to connect with them may be helpful in the future, especially when applying for co-ops and jobs,” she added.
Richard Zou, a first-year business administration major, experienced Block (formerly known as Square). The technology company, founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, provides mobile payment processing services for retailers and restaurants.
Zou studied financial technology at Northeastern University, so it was a perfect fit.
My favorite part of Block’s class was learning more about the company’s history and early products.
“One of the things we saw was the history of chip readers,” says Zou, who visited Onto Innovation & Turner Construction last semester. “We saw the first sketch of how Square was founded when it was co-founded by Jack Dorsey.”
Mere Anand, a freshman computer science major, learned from experts at SAP, a business analytics company. He is interested in the company’s artificial intelligence products.
“I’m a computer science student, but I’m focused on AI,” he says. “I know AI is a big buzzword, but SAP is also very passionate about AI. They’ve been creating and evolving their own AI recently.”
Anand is confident that the E-Trek program will help him land a job at a company like SAP one day.
“SAP looked at internship possibilities, job opportunities, how to apply, who they were looking for, and why working at SAP was a great experience,” says Anand.
Last semester, he visited healthcare company Kaiser Permanente and financial services company YEP.
Northeastern students aren’t the only ones who will gain a lot from this experience. Partner companies also recognize his E-Trek program as a great recruiting tool.
Jorge Villalobos, senior director of manufacturing at Onto Innovation, says the program has helped his company attract young talent.
Onto Innovation is a provider of semiconductor metrology equipment, and although the semiconductor industry is making a comeback in the U.S., he says it’s difficult to find young workers interested in developing the skills to work in the field. say.
“The geopolitical issues that are happening right now with chip laws are putting more pressure on the semiconductor industry,” he says.
Andrea Lepore, Oakland Roots Sports Club’s vice president of brand partnerships, said the E-Treks program aligns perfectly with the organization’s community goals.
“This program was a natural fit for our engagement with the Tohoku region,” she says.
Humane, a technology startup developing wearable AI technology, hopes that by partnering with Northeastern, it will be able to attract high-quality students to its internship and co-op programs.
The company’s first product is Ai Pin, a wearable device that can be used to play music, send messages, and make calls.
Monique Macias, a program partner at Humane University, said the company is different from other high-tech companies in that it seeks to disrupt industries with new product categories.
Northeastern students were able to speak directly with the engineers who developed Ai Pin and demo the technology during an immersive experience.
“We had engineers on the mechanical side. We did product design. We had software engineers,” she says.
