Skip to main content

Students

Host an Externship

Are you an employer interested in preparing the next generation of engineers and introducing new talent to your company? Consider hosting an externship!

The CC@E Externship Program is an explorative learning opportunity for engineering students. Students partake in a one- or two-day on-site experience during spring break with host companies, getting hands-on experience in working in a professional setting while building industry contacts.

Benefits of hosting

The Externship Program offers many benefits to host employers:

  • Building and strengthening the company's brand awareness
  • Engaging with UW's engineering students, especially those in their early academic curriculum
  • Providing mentorship and explorative opportunities
  • Building a pipeline to internship and/or job recruiting

Expectations

Host companies are asked to organize various hands-on activities for students that will help them learn what it is like to work in a professional setting. We recommend that you provide at least one activity per day.

Some examples of host company activities include:

  • Training on a professional / technical skill(s) related to a job function at the company
  • A site tour allowing the students to learn about different functions at the company
  • Arranging and hosting panels or "meet-and-greets" with employees
  • An engineering-related task that provides hands-on experience, such as conducting a job-related research, a presentation on a specific topic, writing a technical / executive summary report, taking meeting minutes
  • Mini-engineering challenge: students get a topic or task to work on and pitch their ideas in front of company employees
  • Arranging informational interviews with employees in different roles

Sample two-day agenda

Day one

8:30-9:00 a.m.  
Students check in
9:00-10:00 a.m.  
Welcome and introductions; students meet with their externship mentors
10:15-11:50 a.m.  
Company tour
12:00-1:00 p.m.  
Students and mentors have lunch together
1:00-2:30 p.m.  
Students shadow the externship mentor
2:45-3:30 p.m.  
Skills training/professional development workshop
3:30-4:30 p.m.  
Networking event / happy hour

Day two

8:30-10:50 a.m.  
Students shadow the externship mentor
11:00-12:00 p.m.  
Alumni panel
12:00-12:50 p.m.  
Lunch with the alumni
1:00-2:30 p.m.  
Team meeting (students join the mentor’s team meeting)
2:45-3:30 p.m.  
Students meet with the recruiting/engineering/leadership team
3:30-4:30 p.m.  
Wrap-up / debrief session with the mentors

Participate

The CC@E looks forward to discussing your participation. Please e-mail us at engrext@uw.edu.

FAQ

In addition to the one- or two-day long externship over spring break, there are three main tasks that the employers are expected to complete prior to the Externship. 

  1. Complete the employer participation form provided by CC@E by October 31.
  2. Plan and organize the activities for the externship. Although there is no set deadline for this, we encourage you to start the planning process early and aim to have a tentative agenda ready by January.
  3. Connect with your matched student(s) prior to the externship to set expectations and provide guidelines. We'll provide you with contact information for your student(s) in January.

Although we expect that all available externship postings will be assigned a student, it is possible some may not be filled. If this is the case, our office will work with you to find alternative ways to connect you with our students. 

At this time, spring break is the only time that the externship program is being offered. If you’d like to discuss how to connect with our students at different times of year, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Employer registration closes on October 31.

We expect that about 100 students will participate in the first year of the externship program.

Student application & matching

We ask students questions about their interests, experience, and career aspirations to assess which externship will be the best fit for them.

No, the CC@E team will be responsible for reviewing the application and matching the students. If you have preferences on student demographic or additional information that would be helpful for our matching process, you can let us know when you fill out the employer participation form. Although we will take those into consideration, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to satisfy all of the criteria provided to us.

You will be notified of the matching result in January. You will receive more information about the student(s) and how you can get connected with them prior to the externship.

Externship Preparation

We are not planning to provide any formal training for employers at this point, but please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need help in building out your activities. We’re here to support you!

There is a mandatory half-day pre-workshop for participating students, Students learn professional etiquette and other skills to help them make the most of their externship. In addition, students will be asked to complete a pre-assignment that will allow them to learn about their assigned companies and set goals for their externship.

You can assess whether or not the participating students will be exposed to any proprietary/confidential information during the externship. You can try to leave out any activities that will expose proprietary/confidential information to the students. You can also have the students sign a nondisclosure form prior to the externship.