INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Located in the heart of the North Texas Telecom Corridor™, UTD is within a 5-mile radius of more than 500 high-technology companies, ranging from small startup ventures to large multinational corporations such as Texas Instruments, Ericsson, Raytheon and a host of others, many with their US headquarters here. The Jonsson School, created in large part to serve the demands of this high-tech community, has capitalized on its unique location and is becoming an integral part of the North Texas ‘economic engine.’ The relationships between UTD and industry benefit our students, the Jonsson School and industry by providing:
Career opportunities for our graduates
Graduates of the Jonsson School don’t have to travel far to find challenging and lucrative career opportunities. One example: in a recent survey by Raytheon chairman Bill Swanson of his company’s employee base, he learned that more than 600 Raytheon personnel are UTD graduates (due in part to Raytheon’s acquisition of Texas Instruments’ defense-electronics sector and Dallas-based E-Systems) – an impressive statistic for an engineering school that began granting degrees in 1989. In addition to the traditional high-tech career path, in recent years more and more graduates have found their way into the business, financial and legal sectors – as analysts, consultants, and patent specialists.
Co-op/internship opportunities for our students
With nearly 600 students engaged this past year as industrial interns and co-ops – predominantly in the ‘Corridor’ but also throughout Texas and the country – the Jonsson School’s Industrial Practice Program is the largest such program in the state and sixth largest in the nation. More than 180 companies employed our undergraduate and graduate students as interns or co-ops in 2004-05. Graduate students often pursue master’s and doctoral research projects as part of these assignments, and their industrial mentors frequently serve on the students’ dissertation committees. Graduating engineers and computer scientists with industrial experience enjoy a decided competitive edge in launching their professional careers.
Research partnerships
Our industry partners are also a major source of support for the Jonsson School’s research programs. With the continuing corporate trend toward outsourcing of basic – and, in many cases, applied – research, the Jonsson School has forged a large number of significant partnerships with companies both local and national. The synergy between our faculty’s research interests and the future needs of industry keeps both parties moving ahead of the cutting edge in high technology.
Fundraising and development
Our industrial partners are a major source of development funding for both the Jonsson School and UTD. This comes in a number of forms: endowment funds for distinguished faculty chairs; funds for new buildings, equipment and infrastructure; fellowships and assistantships for outstanding students; and sponsorship of School forums, colloquia, job fairs and other events.
Industrial Advisory Board
The Jonsson School maintains an active Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) with over 60 members, presided over by an Executive Committee (ExCom) of 21 members and alternates.
