2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Providing opportunities for students to engage with industry creates pathways to internships, scholarships, and career opportunities while strengthening students’ professional, technical, and communication skills. By taking advantage of strong partnerships with employers and alumni, an engineering department launched, in Spring 2023, an annual department-level undergraduate Networking Event. This paper examines the correlation between this event and student success, focusing on metrics including GPA, scholarship attainment, participation in summer internships, average starting salaries, and engagement as alumni after graduation. Over three years, students who attended the event had an average GPA of 3.64, which is higher than the average GPA of non-attendees during the same periods. Scholarship attainment among attendees increased from 39.06% in 2022–2023 to 47.06% in 2023–2024, with attendees comprising 62.5% of department external scholarship recipients in 2023 and 50% in 2024. The participation in summer internships by the attendees increased from 79.49% in AY 2022-2023 to 92.19% in AY 2023-2024 and 94.12% in AY 2024-2025, including numerous placements with companies represented at the event. Since starting this event, the starting salaries of the graduates have increased steadily, and the attendees earned higher salaries. In AY 2023-2024, the attendees earned an average salary of $80,769, exceeding the departmental average of $77,400. Employer and alumni participation expanded each year, with industry attendees growing from 53 in AY 2022-2023 representing 32 companies to 69 in 2023-2024 representing 44 companies and 80 in AY 2024-2025 representing 59 companies. In addition to providing opportunities for internships, scholarships, and careers, many industry attendees engaged more closely with students in the department by serving as senior design industry sponsors, delivering professional development seminars, and hosting career and internship information sessions. This data suggests that structured networking opportunities enhance student success while cultivating a strong network of alumni and employers who invest in the program and provide valuable industry engagement. Department-level networking events can serve as a tool to support academic performance, advance career readiness, and build long-term professional networks for both students and the academic department.