Focused job fairs give CEE students an edge

Our CEE undergrads say...

Zachary Gold Senior

My favorite thing about the CEE program is how often we learn about things that have been discovered at UIUC! I distinctly remember learning about at least three different important civil engineering concepts that were a part of a previous professor's research.

This year I will be on the executive board of Engineering Council, serving as Director for the Student Introduction to Engineering program. We host a weekend-long event for prospective engineering students in February. I attended the event as a senior in high school and chose U of I because of it. I have helped out with it ever since.

It is no secret to anyone that I love it here at UIUC. I think the prestige of the program combined with the collaborative environment make it an amazing experience.

Fundamentals of Engineering exam pass rate

(National pass rate is 68%)

Curriculum improvements

Continued from the previous page quirements have been modified following best practices in writing instruction to include a focus on writing to learn, writing to audience, and writing across engineering genres, and includes several instances of self- and peer-evaluation of writing. Another example of focused learning opportunities enabled by the curriculum innovation is provided by the focus track on data science and computation. A new series of advanced courses in data science, machine learning, and sensors and advanced measurements offers students an opportunity to gain deep experience in these important and emerging topics, all within the CEE context. Students who complete these courses will earn a certificate in Data Science and Computation in CEE.

The curriculum innovation is developed, supported and maintained by a faculty-led Community of Practice composed of instructors of critical, relevant courses, CEE Curriculum Committee members, and course directors for 300-level core courses. The Community of Practice cohort provides coordination and assistance throughout the curriculum, rather than direction and control, and serves as a resource that is flexible and comprehensive across group sub-structures, providing long-term vision and management of the curriculum. These Community of Practice faculty leaders support the curriculum innovation through introducing core skill activities as a complement to the existing technical excellence as the hallmark of our program.

These modifications to the curriculum represent significant innovation and upgrade to the CEE student experience and learning outcomes, while maintaining the overall structure, content and technical rigor of existing courses. As the world changes, so must the profession of civil and environmental engineering. In CEE at Illinois, we are preparing students to be the engineering leaders of a bright future. i

CEE’s targeted job fairs bring recruiters to campus twice a year

For a quarter century, CEE has been offering its own job fairs – the only engineering department at Illinois to do so. Today the fairs are presented in both the spring (one day) and fall (two days).

The job fairs are held in the Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory crane bay. Hundreds of companies send recruiters – many of whom are CEE alumni. All students are encouraged to attend the job fairs for full-time jobs, summer jobs, internships and simply experience speaking with recruiters. The department also hosts a resume review night before the fall fair, with volunteers from among our alumni offering critiques.

The Grainger College of Engineering also offers job fairs and a range of jobseeking assistance through Engineering Career Services, but the CEE-specific fairs are particularly popular with our students and companies seeking only CEE grads.

During the pandemic, the job fairs pivoted seamlessly to an online platform. i