Engineering students Agile on multiple projects
Engineering students Agile on multiple projects
April 27, 2007
They've got the brains. They've got the skills. They've got the clients. They may even get an A.
As members of the Agile Consulting Group at Rowan University, seven College of Engineering students are acquiring a taste of the business world before they graduate.
The students are serving as consultants to other students and to outside businesses on a variety of engineering tasks. Agile is one of Rowan's more than 100 annual engineering clinics ? hands-on projects students participate in from freshman year through graduation ? that give students a taste of the business world.
"As budding engineers, we're asking them to consider entrepreneurship and consulting as a career choice," said Dr. Leigh Weiss, an associate professor of computer science, adjunct in the College of Engineering and advisor to the group, which was founded in January 2001 and offers the engineering skills of students to those looking for talented consulting services. "Each member works on a project alone or as a member of a team."
The group's mission statement notes, "Agile Consulting specializes in the design and implementation of high-level solutions for the specific needs of your business. Our staff comprised of Rowan University professors, graduate students and undergraduate students offers expertise in a wide range of technical backgrounds. Working in partnership with Rowan gives our staff and your business access to the cutting-edge technologies and engineering facilities the University has to offer. Our goal . . . is to provide professional-level services . . . while giving engineering students the opportunity to gain the valuable industry experience needed to succeed in the business world."
This semester, the students are working on projects such as developing interactive Web sites that can handle estimates for a firm, building trim tabs for a professor's boat, working on high-powered LED lights for a College of Engineering alumnus and creating a media presence center with a large screen video display.
Working in various engineering disciplines, Agile members also can handle such tasks as custom programming for engineering, scientific, business, management and other applications; autoCAD/solid works design and 3D rendering/modeling; Web site design; circuit design and layout; data acquisition; instrumentation; precision abrasive water jet machining; and physical analysis.
Agile President Jeff Hanna, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Norristown, Pa., who got involved with the group to get a handle on the pros and cons of working for himself, sees a benefit for the present and future in being part of the team. "It made me feel accomplished when other peers and professors from around the University came to me for help. My confidence improved greatly," he said. "One day I aspire to become an entrepreneur, and Agile has helped me understand the nuts and bolts of how businesses are operated."
Other team members are interested in taking the entrepreneurship path when they graduate. James Keller, 23, a junior civil and environmental engineer from Vernon, is among those weighing the possibility, and being part of the Agile team has been an education. "I learned that this course was not the easy 'A' I expected," he said. "It turns out there is a lot more work in running your own business. This was more than I ever expected, but I'd rather learn it now when a grade is on the line instead of my career."
NOTE: Agile members are:
Jeff Castner, 21, a junior mechanical engineering major from Bloomsbury
Jeff Hanna, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Norristown, Pa.
James Keller, 23, a junior civil and environmental engineering major from Vernon
Rane Pierson, 20, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Sparta
Danil Romanov, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Vineland
Michael Ulrich, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Riverside
William Watkins, 21, a sophomore chemical engineering major from Penns Grove
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As members of the Agile Consulting Group at Rowan University, seven College of Engineering students are acquiring a taste of the business world before they graduate.
The students are serving as consultants to other students and to outside businesses on a variety of engineering tasks. Agile is one of Rowan's more than 100 annual engineering clinics ? hands-on projects students participate in from freshman year through graduation ? that give students a taste of the business world.
"As budding engineers, we're asking them to consider entrepreneurship and consulting as a career choice," said Dr. Leigh Weiss, an associate professor of computer science, adjunct in the College of Engineering and advisor to the group, which was founded in January 2001 and offers the engineering skills of students to those looking for talented consulting services. "Each member works on a project alone or as a member of a team."
The group's mission statement notes, "Agile Consulting specializes in the design and implementation of high-level solutions for the specific needs of your business. Our staff comprised of Rowan University professors, graduate students and undergraduate students offers expertise in a wide range of technical backgrounds. Working in partnership with Rowan gives our staff and your business access to the cutting-edge technologies and engineering facilities the University has to offer. Our goal . . . is to provide professional-level services . . . while giving engineering students the opportunity to gain the valuable industry experience needed to succeed in the business world."
This semester, the students are working on projects such as developing interactive Web sites that can handle estimates for a firm, building trim tabs for a professor's boat, working on high-powered LED lights for a College of Engineering alumnus and creating a media presence center with a large screen video display.
Working in various engineering disciplines, Agile members also can handle such tasks as custom programming for engineering, scientific, business, management and other applications; autoCAD/solid works design and 3D rendering/modeling; Web site design; circuit design and layout; data acquisition; instrumentation; precision abrasive water jet machining; and physical analysis.
Agile President Jeff Hanna, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Norristown, Pa., who got involved with the group to get a handle on the pros and cons of working for himself, sees a benefit for the present and future in being part of the team. "It made me feel accomplished when other peers and professors from around the University came to me for help. My confidence improved greatly," he said. "One day I aspire to become an entrepreneur, and Agile has helped me understand the nuts and bolts of how businesses are operated."
Other team members are interested in taking the entrepreneurship path when they graduate. James Keller, 23, a junior civil and environmental engineer from Vernon, is among those weighing the possibility, and being part of the Agile team has been an education. "I learned that this course was not the easy 'A' I expected," he said. "It turns out there is a lot more work in running your own business. This was more than I ever expected, but I'd rather learn it now when a grade is on the line instead of my career."
NOTE: Agile members are:
Jeff Castner, 21, a junior mechanical engineering major from Bloomsbury
Jeff Hanna, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Norristown, Pa.
James Keller, 23, a junior civil and environmental engineering major from Vernon
Rane Pierson, 20, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Sparta
Danil Romanov, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Vineland
Michael Ulrich, 21, a junior electrical and computer engineering major from Riverside
William Watkins, 21, a sophomore chemical engineering major from Penns Grove
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