GE Careers Blog.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has partnered with Intel and GE to change the status quo through a targeted set of grants whose projects take creative approaches in engaging and retaining undergraduates in engineering and computer science. Both fields are dynamic, encompassing areas of focus that didn’t even exist a couple of decades ago–from green energy and advanced robotics to cybersecurity. Engineering and computer science also offer good careers with salaries that can make a life-changing difference, especially to first-generation college students and their families.

GE Oil & Gas is relying on a multiprong approach. It’s hosting mid-career prospects at a special lunch this week. It’s sponsoring a “speed networking” event for college students so they can meet a variety of GE executives. And it’s trying to find what recruiters call passive job seekers — top-notch candidates who don’t even know yet that they’re looking for a job. GE, which has about 5,500 employees in the Houston area, is also hoping that a lunch it’s hosting for mid-career candidates who have jobs somewhere else will lead to some hiring. The 50 or so candidates, who were identified through LinkedIn and Facebook as well as through resume postings on the big job boards, include engineers, sales people and marketing managers.

On April 18th Julie DeWane, VP Global Supply Chain, Measurement & Control, was awarded the Purdue Outstanding Industrial Engineering Award. Back in 1997, the Faculty of Purdue’s School of Industrial Engineering established the Outstanding Industrial Engineer award to recognize those alumni who have distinguished themselves through exemplary technical and leadership accomplishments in the field of industrial engineering and related areas. Honorees are selected from any of the broad areas of industrial engineering and acknowledged for their contribution to their communities and the nation. Since then 104 alumni have been honored with the prestigious Outstanding Industrial Engineer award.

General Electric said its $52 million center on the University of Dayton campus means something unprecedented for the company and the airplane manufacturing industry. Instead of waiting for an airplane company to throw a design its way, GE intends to get more involved earlier. This will change the way the company designs, tests, engineers and builds aircraft electrical systems. The idea is to assemble a close consortium of engineers to collaborate throughout the process.

Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric Corp., will receive an honorary degree and serve as a keynote speaker during the University of Connecticut’s commencement weekend in May. The UConn Board of Trustees has approved the award of the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Immelt, the leader of Fairfield-based GE and a repeat honoree on TIME magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Immelt is chairman of the advisory board to the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and in that role, he oversees collaborative efforts between UConn and GE in connection with the development of UConn’s Technology Park. GE and its employees also are valued participants in mentoring and internship programs, and a partner in efforts by the state, UConn, and the corporate community to build an innovation-driven economy in Connecticut.