Watch CBS News

MSU, Bosch Collaboration Encourages Innovation and Creative Thinking Among Early Engineering Students

EAST LANSING -- Robert Bosch LLC is partnering with Michigan State University's College of Engineering to cultivate innovation and creativity in the next generation of engineers.

A ribbon cutting on Feb. 11 marked the opening of the Innovation and Creative Thinking Theme Floor in Wilson Hall sponsored by Bosch.

Speaking at the ceremony for Robert Bosch LLC were Maximiliane Straub, CFO and executive vice president, controlling, finance and administration, and Charlie Ackerman, senior vice president of human resources. Representing MSU were President Lou Anna K. Simon and College of Engineering Dean Satish Udpa.

Later in the evening, Straub, who is also vice president of the Bosch Community Fund, hosted a seminar featuring Mark Peters, director of engineering, Bosch Car Multimedia division, North America, who presented a lecture, "Innovation and Creative Thinking," to the greater MSU community. Peters provided an overview of Bosch and highlighted opportunities for career development, including student internships, available at the company.

Bosch -- a global supplier of technology and services in the areas of automotive technology, energy and building technology, industrial technology, and consumer goods -- has become a corporate sponsor in the Engineering Theme Partnership program. Bosch and the Bosch Community Fund contributed $200,000 in support of the Michigan State University CoRe (Cornerstone and Residential) Experience. They join Consumers Energy, the Consumers Energy Foundation and GE Transportation as a CoRe Experience Theme Partner.

Through the partnership, Bosch will be involved with both the academic and co-curricular activities of the CoRe Experience for first-year engineering students. The CoRe Experience is designed to engage engineering students early in their academic careers in experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.

"As a company dedicated to innovation, Bosch understands the need to cultivate creativity and innovative thinking in the next generation of engineers," said Straub. "At Bosch, we strive to excite students from a very young age to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as we know this is the basis for innovation. Innovation is the foundation of our company, where we develop products and services that are 'Invented for life.' We encourage students -- and offer them hands-on opportunities -- to apply their interest in STEM education as they pursue their respective career. This CoRe collaboration provides multiple opportunities to engage with students and demonstrate our commitment to investing in their education. We look forward to partnering with the MSU faculty and interacting with the students to help them shape and build their careers."

Noted Udpa: "We must engage engineering students early on, immersing them in real-world activities that will give them the tools to solve the global challenges of the future. This partnership with Bosch will allow our students to engage in hands-on activities that promote creativity and innovation as they are developing the technical engineering understanding needed to succeed. Having Bosch and its employees interact with our students early in their academic careers offers them insight into the possibilities available to them in the future. Corporate sponsorships such as this give our students an edge as they prepare to enter the workforce as professional engineers."

And Walton, director of the CoRe Experience, added: "In the CoRe Experience, our mission is to build the whole engineer, by supporting students in their academic, professional, and personal development. Partners such as Bosch allow us to pursue this goal in ways that would not be possible without their support and participation."

Each year, CoRe immerses more than 1,300 freshmen in hands-on design projects from Day One, and provides a living-learning environment in Wilson Hall for more than 650 of those students. In addition to classes and labs, special seminars, advising and academic support are available within the residence hall. The co-curricular programming of CoRe is open to all engineering students. Learning from each other and through hands-on and co-curricular activities, students discover how to function in a collaborative, team-based, diverse setting.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.