Portland State Magazine Fall 2018

23 PEGAH ALAVI ’17 prefers planning railroads and streets to designing culverts and other water projects, an insight she gained before graduation by interning with two Portland engineering firms. Alavi’s six-month-long internships were paid, added a fifth year to her undergraduate degree, and led to a full-time job offer from David Evans and Associates working on projects such as the Southwest Corridor MAX light rail line. One of 130 PSU engineering students placed each year in paid internships through the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program, Alavi is understandably enthusiastic about her experience. “They should have it in every field, not just engineering, because it widens your perspective while you’re still in school,” Alavi says. Alavi’s wish is closer to being fulfilled. This academic year, PSU CO-OP will expand cooperative education beyond the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science. The new program will begin winter 2019 with up to 50 undergraduate students. About 20 Portland-area employers so far have committed to offering paid internships. This is the first step in President Rahmat Shoureshi’s plan to build a formal cooperative education track over the next few years. “Experiential learning is a hallmark of PSU education, and PSU CO-OP introduces a new and unique dimension to learning for our students,” Shoureshi says. “It also brings a new strategy for access and affordability, which Portland State already excels in compared to other universities in the state. “PSU CO-OP will benefit students, employers and our regional economy. It will ensure that a PSU education remains valuable and relevant in our rapidly changing global society. The combined benefits of work experience (some of it potentially at international corporations) while attending Portland State and earning money to make it affordable, will keep our students ahead of their peers.” COOPERATIVE education differs from a basic internship in several ways. A co-op track can add a full year to a student’s undergraduate degree. Students alternate periods of academic study with full- or part-time employment in paid positions that are related to their career interests. And co-op positions can last six months to a year, or even longer. “The benefits for students and employers are obvious,” says Shoureshi. “Cooperative education eases students’ and their families’ concerns about paying for college. Employers can groom our best and brightest students for high-paying, highly-skilled careers in their fields.” Co-op programs flourish around the country, though mostly on the East Coast. Northeastern University’s co-op program has existed for more than 100 years. The University of Connecticut and Purdue University in Indiana provide paid experiential learning opportunities. At Purdue, more than 1,000 students across eight colleges participate along with more than 600 employers. Steve Wanders, Purdue’s associate director of cooperative education, says the paid work periods boost students’ classroom performance because “they understand why they are learning what they are learning.” About 70 percent of Purdue co-op students receive a job offer from their employer. “We have coined the phrase ‘recruit once, hire twice,’” Wanders says. At Portland State students will choose to enroll in PSU CO-OP, and their course load will include classes that prepare them for their work experiences. University leaders anticipate that the first PSU CO-OP students, in addition to engineering and computer science majors, will be students majoring in business, communications, economics, English, geographic information systems and graphic design. The number of students will vary by major and employer demand. “I see cooperative education as another example of how Portland State innovates and capitalizes on our urban location,” says Shoureshi. “By being in the heart of Portland, with its pool of thriving and diverse businesses, the opportunities of PSU CO-OP can’t be matched at any other Oregon university. “PSU can be the West Coast model for cooperative learning at colleges and universities.”  Paige Frank is a staff member in the PSU Office of University Communications. Cooperative education pairs students with businesses. Doing the work at Intel As the University ramps up PSU CO-OP, a cooperative educa- tion program where students will alternate periods of academic study with paid employment, recent grad Yury Kutsurenko ’18 thoroughly understands how it’s done. While a mechanical engineering student, Kutsurenko took on four internships related to his field of study through the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program, a model for PSU CO-OP. “That delayed my graduation, but I don’t regret it a bit because employers expect you to get work experience before you graduate,” says Kutsurenko, a Hillsboro Liberty High gradu- ate, who used the internships to help pay for his PSU education. Today, Kutsurenko is a manufacturing intern at Intel and has been for the past nine months. He works on 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. He is confident that his previous internships at Blount International, CH2M, and Franklin Control Systems will soon pave the way for a permanent position. Four internships helped Yury Kutsurenko ’18 land a position at Intel before he graduated.