Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Lina H. Kloub, University of Connecticut; Christina Smith, University of Connecticut; Faiyhaa-Sydra Saulat, University of Connecticut

Enhancing Career Readiness Skills for Engineering Students with Artificial Intelligence Lina H. Kloub Christina Smith Faiyhaa-Sydra Saulat School of Computing School of Computing School of Computing University of Connecticut University of Connecticut University of Connecticut Storrs, CT, USA Storrs, CT, USA Storrs, CT, USA Abstract—Career readiness is a vital aspect of engineering mon goals. These three competencies not only help studentseducation, aligning with the National Association of

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Shinae Jang P.E.

prepare students for future and reinforce professional behaviors during a crucial stage ofemployment and lifelong learning. The career readiness their education.competencies, as identified by the National Association ofColleges and Employers (NACE), encompass key skills such ascommunication, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, II. BACKGROUNDprofessionalism, technology, equity and inclusion, and career andself-development. While first-year design and senior capstone The Statics course is a fundamental requirement forcourses often emphasize professionalism, there is a notable gap in students in Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, and Biomedicalsuch education for

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Karissa Tilbury; Mohamad Musavi; Cary James; Alex Friess

- rates suggesting that rural and income-based pressures arestructured but encourage students to share their own compounding in this student population. To address theseexperiences. Topics to date have included: 1) Study Skills and pressures, the Building Bridges to Engineering StudentSelf-Reflection, 2) Goal Setting and Individual Development (BBEST) team seeks to create a targeted, personal approach toPlanning, 3) Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 4) counteract the social and financial pressures associated with theUndergraduate Research Experiences, and 5) Career perceptions of technology and advanced degrees in theirPreparation. The mentorship team consists of the associate

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Terri A. Camesano; Elizabeth Wilson; Valerie Smedile Rifkin

economy [1]. The need for lifelongabout how to scale up and further support the AC market. This learning and training opportunities is growing as employeespaper explores the structure, impact, and lessons learned from find ways to adapt and respond to the rapidly changingthis initiative, highlighting its potential for improving workforce industrial landscape. Dede and Richards discuss the need for adevelopment, corporate training, and career progression. The “60 year curriculum,” in which higher education must shift topaper also examines challenges such as audience identification, serve the needs of students over the course of their lives [2].pricing models, and marketing strategies, providing insights into

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Mohamed Elwakil; Tooran Emami Ph. D.

student learning. Using a academic backgrounds and career trajectories.mixed-methods approach, we collected data from 35 students (25from DB and 10 from EEM) through pre- and post-study surveys, The significance of integrating prompt engineering intoskills assessments, and qualitative feedback. Key findings reveal curricula spans disciplines. In computational fields, it enhancesthat students in both courses reported an improved understanding technical workflows such as code generation or databaseof AI and proficiency in prompt engineering. Students in the DB optimization, while in engineering or applied sciences, itcourse, which has a

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2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Mashtura Rahman; Shivansh Sharma; Michael Ventourat; Julianne Torreno; Nealesh Guha; David Lee; Alec Kisselev; Tak Choi David Cheung; Sunil Dehipawala; Harsha Rajapakse

could radiation facilities in student research. Light sources such asconsist of sample preparation, spectroscopy dye lasers pumped by nitrogen lasers offer oscilloscope datainstrumentation, data science, interpretation, billing, and collection experience. A spectrometer from 450 nm to 700 nmreporting to clients. The sustainability aspect is discussed in offers visible alignment experience.terms of future synchrotron radiation projects in a start-up techcompany and student career training in materials science and III. SPECTROSCOPY DATA ANALYSISengineering, instrumentation, and AI-assisted data science

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2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Thomas C. McKinley

engaging projects that allowed members to apply theirincreasingly important to understand computer programming programming knowledge to the real world and working on weband artificial intelligence (AI). As a future workforce, it is scraping related to gaming, making the learning processimperative that high school students understand and have skills exciting and relevant to students’ interests. These hands-onin this field regardless of their eventual careers. Recognizing

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2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Navarun Gupta; Deana DiLuggo; Junling Hu; Abhilasha Tibrewal; Ahmed Elsayed; Theresa Bruckerhoff

student success and the ability of theby adapting and implementing the Affinity Research Group institution to compete for future NSF funding and piloting a(ARG) Model. HSI Pilot Project: Fostering Hispanic Achievementin Computer Science and Engineering with Affinity Research short-term, well-defined goal to enhance the availability ofGroup Model (Project Achieve) aims to enhance the quality of the high-quality undergraduate STEM education at the HSI. Toundergraduate STEM program at UB and to provide a learning realize these project goals, Project Achieve is designed tointervention that improves retention so that all students canrealize future career aspirations in

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Yegin Genc; Gonca Altuger-Genc; Akin Tatoglu

@farmingdale.edu tatoglu@hartford.edu Abstract Self-directed learning (SDL) is essential for by various engineering education, resulting in less definitivestudents, graduate students, and mid-career professionals seeking descriptions of the relevant concepts [13] and shifting the focuscontinuous improvement. AI-powered tutors can enhance SDL by on who the self-directed learner is. A self-directed learner canguiding learners through the stages of learning readiness be anyone: an undergraduate student, a recent graduateassessment, goal setting, engagement, and evaluation. This paper preparing for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) or the

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Bushra Rayyan Qadri; Arthur McAdams; Peter Cavanaugh; Dan Tenney; Ali Baker

growing phenomenon ofreflects the challenge in preparing students for a career in industry. scientists and humanities in academia working separately and In 2023, the Technology Management faculty at the struggling to collaborate, which he called the “two cultures.”University of Bridgeport created an Industry Advisory Board [5] In his argument, he says this phenomenon will lead to lessconsisting of regional executives from large corporations. This innovation in society as well as hindering the problem-solvinggroup reiterated the concept of communication breakdowns, in capabilities of any organization. Snow concluded his lecture bythis case between engineers and business professionals

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2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Seyedeh Elham Kamali; Reihaneh Samsami

Miranda et al. (2021), who cohort of engineering students, aiming to uncover note that while AI tools can enhance personalized shortcomings in current educational methods and to learning experiences and adapt educational content to the suggest improvements. The findings are expected to contribute to the ongoing discussion on enhancing changing needs of the industry, they also require new engineering education, ensuring students are well-prepared pedagogical strategies to ensure they are used with essential AI skills and ethical insight for their appropriately. professional careers

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Sunil Dehipawala; Guozhen An; Arkadiy Portnoy; Tak Cheung

in preparing undergraduate students to conduct research, in-conversion for deployment to fulfill the first-year experience person as well as online when necessary, starting in the Excelcriterion was challenging given the setting of open admissions, environment with a gradual transformation to the standardthe newly graduated high school students with strong intentions Python framework. The Excel with Python by Microsoftin the programming career were found to be successful in thelearning of Python fundamentals. The recent Microsoft Office without third vendor subscription fee is only available to365

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Lina H. Kloub, University of Connecticut

concepts, foster collaboration,fidence in ethical considerations, greater appreciation for AI’srole in learning, and improved career readiness. The results and build career competencies in line with the Nationalhighlight the transformative potential of AI when thoughtfully Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) standards [7].integrated into coursework, fostering an inclusive environment To measure the effectiveness of these interventions, surveysthat enhances academic and professional development. This were conducted at the beginning and end of the semester.paper discusses the methodologies, findings, and implications for The findings reveal a shift in students’ perceptions of AIeducators aiming

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Bala Maheswaran; Meghna Sridhar; Yiannis Levendis; Hameed Metghalchi

knowledge sharing, problem-solving discussions, anddeepened their interest in sustainable energy and renewable improved communication skills—essential elements oftechnologies, particularly solar energy. Several expressed a real-world engineering projects. Most students identifiedgreater desire to pursue careers in renewable energy design inefficiencies, such as challenges with mirrorengineering or related fields. The hands-on experience of alignment, motor precision, and sensor calibration

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Dinh Cuong Nguyen; Gregory Lovisolo; Dan Tenney

contributedsuggests that the organization may need to revisit its positively to staying, which may be due to factors such ascompensation strategies, particularly for employees with lower career growth potential.salaries. The non-linear relationship observed in the Years AtCompany plot points to the need for targeted retention On the other hand, Marital Status (Single) had a negativeprograms for both new employees and long-tenured staff, who impact on the prediction, meaning that the employee beingmay need more engagement to reduce the risk of burnout. The single increased the likelihood of attrition. Other factors, suchinteraction between Age and Tenure suggests that retention as

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Julianne Torreno; Nealesh Guha; Mashtura Rahman; Michael Ventouratos; David Lee; Shivansh Sharma; Sunil Dehipawala; Guozhen An; Tak Cheung

results. A faculty mentor can also explain data science activity to the students as an activity in a start-up company. In the case of bioinformatics, a data science start-up company could persuade a client company to pay for more data analysis to include more mammals in a more comprehensive study. This is an acceptable pedagogy for career development in terms of

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Elizabeth O'Connell; Sarath Chandra Kumar Jagupilla; Muhammad Hajj

54.31%deadlines, application links, and supporting materials wereposted in a scholarship module and sent as an announcement.A summary of the number of external scholarship Although Canvas was still being used in the Fall 2023 andopportunities posted in each academic semester is listed in Spring 2024 semesters, information was only sent asTable 1. Similar postings were created for career, internship, announcements if the scholarship deadlines fell before theresearch, conference, and event opportunities, although these next advising bulletin. In addition, department faculty andare not the focus of this study. The operations of the Canvas staff were also emailed a copy of the

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Noha Alharbi; Peter Cavanaugh

]. There enhancing their confidence and career prospects andare not enough female role models, and women are judged collectively by improving their advocacy, lobbying, andnetworking [48]. However, obstacles and shortcomings hinder D. Women Entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabiawomen's advancement, denying them many opportunities in Governments worldwide are increasingly concerned withthe digital age, including entrepreneurship. In addition, the unemployment and its economic impact [62]. In the Gulflimited technological resources of women-owned companies region, the workforce absorption capacity is only 5% [63].affect their ability to transform opportunities into value [49]. The government sector alone

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2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Joseph P. Duszak; John F. Drazan; Cynthia A. Bautista

; Head Mounted Displays ne potential cause of early career burnout among nurses is the theory-practice gap. Within nurse training, the theory-practice I. INTRODUCTION gap describes the difficulty new practicing nurses encounter One of the Grand Challenges of Engineering for the 21st when translating the theories they learned in theirCentury is to enhance virtual reality (VR) technology to solve undergraduate classrooms to clinical practice as nurses. Thisproblems in our society [1]. Healthcare remains a huge cost gap is

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Teresa Piliouras; Steffi Crasto; Chinmay Dharap; Pui Lam Yu; Navarun Gupta

, Evaluate AI's risks, Cybersecurity ethical evaluation, data benefits and ethical Developing these core competencies prepares individuals Ethics ethics, algorithm bias usenot only for careers but also for lifelong learning and Hands-On Phishing drills, incident Reinforce skillsresponsible participation in society. It helps build lasting Cybersecurity response, ethical hacking through practicalhabits of reflection, self-awareness, and disciplined reasoning. Simulations and platforms (TryHackMe, exercisesThese skills sharpen one's ability to recognize human

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Saddam Alkhamaiesh; Peter Cavanugh

offers insights into bridging workforceInfrastructure (NEVI) program, a key initiative under the BIL, gaps and enhancing technician training programs to meet therising demand for EV maintenance skills [9]. Additionally, the However, research indicates that wage disparities, job securityfindings underscore the necessity of aligning state-level concerns, and skilled trainers' availability impact theimplementation strategies with federal investments to ensure attractiveness of EV technician careers [22]. Addressing thesean equitable and efficient workforce transition. economic factors is critical for ensuring a sustainable and well

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Hasan Baig; Phillip Bradford

assessment of student capabilities. I. INTRODUCTION Computer science education is becoming increasinglyattractive to a diverse range of individuals. This allure is not II. BACKGROUND AND RELATED WORKonly for aspiring students intending to pursue a career in this ChatGPT was introduced to the public on November 30,field but also for those contemplating a career switch due to the 2022. It has quickly gained popularity to the extent that peoplesubstantial demand and attractive salary scales in the computer are using it to facilitate their work and increase productivityscience job market. Furthermore, students from varying [6

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Sunil Dehipawala; Guozhen An; Arkadiy Portnoy; Tak Cheung

corresponding output changes and to display the resulting trendD. Case D of Rotation in a graph. (2) To demonstrate an ability in a test to write Rotation geometry posed difficulty in Large Language prompts to AI to generate simulation codes and to display twoModel. Here is an example. random walk models with numeracy to support the understanding of diffusion theory of heat transfer. (3) To Prompt-1: A pebble was glued onto a wheel which was demonstrate an ability in a test to write prompts to AI to showresting on the ground. The pebble was initially at the ground career

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Elyas Irankhah; Sashank Narain; Kelilah L. Wolkowicz

, strategy, and problem-solving. While Tic-Tac-Toe AI games effectively introduceWhen integrated with AI, it becomes a powerful tool for students to AI principles, their long-term impact on AIteaching computational thinking and decision-making [13]. learning and career development remains uncertain [28].Integrating AI-driven educational tools has transformed Studies suggest that while initial engagement levels are high,learning methodologies, particularly in game-based learning. it is unclear whether this translates into sustained interest in AIOne study by S. Jain and N. Khera highlights that adapting or improved academic performance in advanced AI coursesTic-Tac-Toe into an AI-driven experience

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Samuel Servati; PS. Dhanasekaran

’ Achievement in Four Mathematics Topics." Journal oftechnology education by bridging the gap between STEM Education, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 45-56, 2022.theoretical knowledge and real-world applications. [3]. Verma, A. K., Dickerson, D. L., and McKinney, S.Through active engagement, PBL fosters essential "Engaging Students in STEM Careers with Project-technical skills, critical thinking, adaptability, and Based Learning--MarineTech Project." Technology andteamwork, preparing students to meet the evolving Engineering Teacher, vol. 25, pp. 36-42, 2011. [4]. Savage, R. N., Chen, K. C., and Vanasupa

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2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

PS. Dhanasekaran

weakening of students' writing and criticaland centers for pedagogical sciences. Commitment to thinking skills. The ethics of learning analytics furtherlifelong learning should be encouraged by recognizing it involves issues like privacy, data management, andas a career development component for engineering consent. A major challenge in deploying AI in educationeducators. Most lifelong learning courses in universities is training educators of higher education and engineeringfocus on pedagogical resources, common computer to keep pace with technological advancements.software, tools for e-learning and blended learning, basic Additionally, concerns persist about AI replacingprogramming and language

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Alex Peebles

obtained from physical systems. emphasized through validating computer simulation results atPrevious authors have described adding experimental projects to specific time points. Student feedback shows that studentsan introductory dynamics course, where students measured believe CAD simulations helps them understand problems,kinematics of physical systems using video data and increases their level of preparedness for their career, and thataccelerometers, and compared the resulting outcomes to they have a medium-high level of confidence for tackingpredictions made based on the theory presented in the course [7]. dynamics-based problems with hand calculations and computerI think

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Shruti Brahma, University of New Haven; Siddhant Alhat Rajendra, University of New Haven; Ardiana Sula, University of New Haven

reflective of the diverseinternational student enrollment with economic and policy pool of applicants, consisting of 31.2% from Connecticut,influences at a Midwestern U.S. university using the Seasonal 35% from other United States states, and 33.7% international.Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model. In order to maintain student privacy, all institutional recordsThe study discovered that tuition increases had a relatively were anonymized, or all personally identifiable informationlow impact on international student enrollment, suggesting was deleted. The dataset was also audited for regional bias,that factors such as academic reputation and career prospects and no statistically

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Marvin Gayle; Danny Mangra

issues related to ensure equitable accessibility. To addressdesigners and engineers an opportunity to apply mathematical these challenges, institutions need to consistently makemodels, validate the physics and behavioral constraints of significant investment in infrastructure and technologicalprinciples, and test engineering theories as they apply to real adaptation to stay current. The results are graduates withscenarios. This not only applies to testing circuit designs, but significant technical proficiency, improved problem-solvingproficiency, and critical skills that pay dividends throughout challenging to provide students with an adequate learningan engineer’s career

Collection

2025 Northeast Section Conference

Authors

Jun Zhang; Peter Cavanaugh; Dan Tenney

teaches students about the culture that licenses do not expire and allow users to modify and adaptsupports innovation and continuous learning. programs to meet their needs. This independence is a critical aspect of fostering a resilient, self-reliant community that is Moreover, open-source communities benefit from the capable of driving technological progress without unduecontributions of students. Early involvement in open source external influence.can foster a habit of contributing to public projects throughoutone’s career. Academic institutions may support these Economic considerations also support