ISU Students Newswire Stories

Imagine hiring a trained engineer for a short-term project without long-term commitments. CIRAS connects Iowa companies with international engineering graduate students through Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs. “CPT and OPT offer Iowa companies the chance to hire degreed engineers for defined periods, without long-term commitments,” says Gary Mirka, director of … Continue reading Unlock Short-Term Engineering Expertise: How Iowa Companies Can Benefit from International Student Talent

CIRAS routinely connects Iowa companies with technical and business capabilities at Iowa State University, including faculty, research laboratories, and students. One example is the highly collaborative relationship between CIRAS and Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business. Both focus on similar business interests, including business analytics, entrepreneurship, supply chain management, human resources, marketing, and international … Continue reading How the CIRAS-Ivy Partnership Impacts Iowa Companies

This blog was produced by the Manufacturing Innovation Blog Powered by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. View the original blog post here.  Manufacturing internships are one of the most effective methods for building your company’s talent pipeline. In my role as project manager for workforce programs at Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS), I help manufacturers … Continue reading Manufacturing Internships Expand the Talent Pipeline

Members of the CyLaunch team were just months away from the competition they had been preparing for throughout the 2022-2023 school year when they learned their original plan to utilize tools from a local facility one of the members was interning at was not an option. The team was directed to CIRAS for assistance, still … Continue reading CIRAS Supports CyLaunch

  CIRAS is set to welcome the 2023 summer interns to the team. CIRAS hosts interns throughout the summer, offering students professional networking opportunities that will contribute to their professional connection and interest in pursuing manufacturing. The goals of the internship program are as follows: Expose talented young professionals to manufacturing Provide students with opportunities to … Continue reading CIRAS Welcomes 2023 Summer Interns

Iowa State sophomore engineering student and CIRAS intern Cassie Larsen was ready to take on a new challenge when she learned about an opportunity with Dubuque Screw Products (DSP). The northeast Iowa business needed a new shop layout for its expanding facility. “The company had a few ideas, but they were open to anything that … Continue reading Dubuque Screw Products Gains Space with New Process Flow

On October 7 (and throughout the month), manufacturers, community colleges, and universities around the nation will open their doors to show the next generation the amazing careers available in manufacturing as part of MFG Day. This is a big deal. Today’s manufacturers face two major issues: workforce and supply chain. While we can’t predict exactly … Continue reading 2022 MFG Day

When Marlene Hernandez graduates from Iowa State University next spring, she’ll do so with newfound self-confidence and a resume packed with experience. As an intern with CIRAS, Hernandez delved into everything from employee compensation issues to safety and health. “It has made me feel more confident in my capabilities and has helped me develop professional … Continue reading Internships Key to Recruiting Young Talent

An increasing number of companies are turning to Iowa State University students for possible solutions to business needs through capstone projects.  CIRAS project manager Jake Behrens said student capstone teams work with nearly 70 Iowa companies each year on projects that span one or two semesters. Students use the opportunities to demonstrate their ability to … Continue reading Capstone Projects Are a Win-Win for Students, Industry

A new program to attract under-represented minorities to technical and managerial roles in manufacturing is the focus of a $919,000 award received by CIRAS. CIRAS, in partnership with Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in three other states, will create a structure for an internship program to build a pipeline of future employees for MEP centers … Continue reading CIRAS to Lead Multistate Diversity Effort

Spring is here, and that means summer won’t be far behind. Is your summer workforce where it needs to be? If not, Engineering Career Services at Iowa State University is eager to work with any company interested in hiring engineering interns during the coming summer. As of April 5, registrations are still being accepted in … Continue reading Have You Hired Your Summer Engineering Intern?

A Davenport manufacturer of electrical safety devices is prototyping a new product intended to help equipment operators predict when their machines will fail.

The new system, which is expected to be released within the next year, will use special sensors created by Davenport-based Grace Technologies integrated with predictive algorithms using an Internet of Things (IoT) architecture. The technology has grown out of a collaborative, CIRAS-supported research effort between Grace and Iowa State University.

Iowa State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is hosting a virtual open house on Wednesday, August 5, so interested companies can learn more about the technology available on campus.

Interested businesses can participate in three 40-minute sessions covering Industrial Technology, Ag Engineering and Ag Systems Technology, and Biosystems Engineering.

Career fairs at Iowa State University are going digital this fall.

University officials say the change is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provides an option that still will allow employers to network with many students and alumni during the events. It also eliminates the time and expense of travel.

New years bring a time for new beginnings. To quote Charles Kettering, an inventor and the head of research for General Motors from 1920 to 1947, “Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas.”

If CIRAS is a new idea for you, then why not start the new year by considering a few new topics?

Here are five ways that CIRAS can help your company grow in 2020:

Internships can feed the talent pipeline for many small- to medium-sized manufacturers facing serious workforce gaps as their senior employees near retirement. But internship success (finding, engaging, and retaining talent) requires strategy and planning to locate and groom qualified job candidates. As the Program Manager of Apprenticeship and Workforce at the Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), I … Continue reading Develop Talent through Internships

The Orbis Corporation’s plastic container manufacturing plant in Monticello has a significantly quieter corner of the factory now, after a capstone project by Iowa State University engineering students reduced the noise from a nearby granulator.

CIRAS projects have a big impact on Iowa and its communities.

One of the things we do is to help companies find their way around a scarcity of workers. Sometimes, that means helping them reach out to graduating students:

Members of Iowa State University’s PrISUm solar car team see a silver lining in the clouds that dampened their recent trip to Australia for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Despite rainy weather and a missed checkpoint that knocked them out of the finish, the Iowa State engineering students are taking pride in the fact that they managed to build a practical and highly functional solar-powered SUV—one that, once tweaked, appears destined for future competitions.

Two Iowa companies over the past year have separately discovered a new way to safeguard vibrating truck fenders and a new, more attractive way to lock patio doors—both as a result of work done by graduating students at Iowa State University.

Capstone students in Iowa State’s College of Engineering worked on the truck fender project for Link Manufacturing, a Sioux Center company that manufactures heavy-duty truck suspensions. The company asked students to extend the life of after-market fender brackets that sometimes were breaking because of vibration.