Oakland University's School of Engineering and Computer Science (SECS) is once again seeking 16 academically talented students to take advantage of National Science Foundation (NSF) scholarships in industrial and systems engineering, and mechanical engineering.
As part of a $598,980 grant the SECS received last year to fund its OU's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Scholarship Program, 16 students are already receiving $4,800 in support per year for up to four years.
Like those distributed in the first-round, the second-round scholarships offered this year will be awarded evenly between students of both engineering disciplines. The NSF's goal in allocating these funds is to help satisfy a growing demand for engineers by enabling more students to enter the workforce following completion of their degree.
"We know that there are tremendous career opportunities for engineers in southeastern Michigan, and that current demand for well-educated and skilled engineering graduates is unlikely to subside anytime soon" said Professor Robert Van Til, Chair of the Department of Industrial and System Engineering.
"Oakland has a track record of guiding students in becoming highly qualified and highly successful engineering graduates, but the fact is that we need to produce more graduates if we have any hope of filling existing job openings. We're hoping this scholarship opportunity will lure more students onto paths toward success."
Each scholarship recipient will be appointed an OU faculty mentor and each will have access to math and science tutoring relevant to their studies. Students will also be assigned an industry mentor – an OU engineering alumni working for a local company.
The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget estimates that the state will welcome about 4,000 new industrial and systems engineering and mechanical engineering jobs over the next six years. Oakland University is striving to help meet this growing demand by providing stimulating, rigorous and rewarding academic programs of the highest quality.
Aspiring engineers interested in pursuing the NSF scholarship opportunity should contact Van Til by phone at (248) 370-2211 or by e-mail at
vantil@oakland.edu. Sixteen scholarships will be awarded to students enrolling in fall 2013.
To learn more about OU's engineering programs, visit
oakland.edu/ise or
oakland.edu/secs/me.
