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Grand Valley is very focused,
first and foremost,
on the education of our students.
The style at Grand Valley is very hands-on.
You work directly with the Profs,
in smaller classroom settings.
So it's a really open environment,
a lot of discussion in the classrooms.
It's easy to talk to professors and interact.
Faculty teach all of our classes,
undergraduate and graduate.
Grand Valley State University is excited
to introduce a brand new program
that will benefit graduate students.
The program is called the IGA,
the Industry-sponsored Graduate
Assistant program.
The Industry-sponsored GA program allows
students to earn a master's degree while the
companies mentor them during the two years
of the master's program.
So it's a full class semester,
a full work semester, full class semester,
work semester, which is a really interesting
experience, you don't get too burned
out in one area.
The IGA program gives them the real-world
experience in parallel
to the academic experience.
I think Grand Valley graduates have an
advantage over other schools.
Being in the workforce they're ready
to go once they graduate they're full
fledged engineers.
The students receive a tuition waiver
and they are compensated for the time
that they spend in industry.
It's a real job.
You get paid, you have work to do there,
they expect you to be an actual part
of the company.
So when somebody graduates they have a
master's degree, they also have two years
of real world experience.
Through the co-op process the student is
learning theory and then applying it
in a work environment.
And we see at Shape, the students coming
out of Grand Valley with more practical skills
than we do a lot of other universities.
Shape is a global supplier
in the automotive industry.
We specialize in providing automotive
solutions to help keep the vehicle safe
and the occupants safe
in the event of a collision.
We have offices in Europe,
China, Japan, Mexico.
I think there's a lot of pride in working
for Shape in that, you know you take a look
at a car that saved somebody's life,
you can say "I had a piece of that,
and I played a role in that."
The majority of our engineering staff is
from Grand Valley,
and we attribute our success to a lot
of Grand Valley engineering.
We have an opportunity for students
from outside of the U.S.
to come receive our style of education.
When a student comes through their program
and is being successful both in the classroom
but also in the company
that they're doing their co-op,
they are more ready to go to work
and to know how to be successful
in the work environment than students coming
out of a more traditional engineering program.
A lot of students also go on
and actually get a job
with their co-op companies
after experiencing it.
It is not a coincidence that we have
over 95% job placement,
because by the time they graduate our students
have already experienced the application
of their knowledge to the demands
of the real world.
I think co-op set me apart even
to find my first job.
To have that real-world experience to put
on my resume, that definitely set me apart
from the competition.
So I think it gives students a chance
to get the hands-on work,
but also understand how the corporation is
functioning around them.
And I think that working with a company
that is involved globally is a huge advantage
for a student today.
The IGA program graduates industry leaders.
Students are really well academically
prepared, they have tremendous hands-on
skills, they have great professional
and personal skills,
then they hit the ground running.
It makes a huge difference
in their career path.
They get a master's degree
from an American university,
they get to work with the finest engineers
in the automotive industry,
and then the go back and they have a job.
So I think it's a great benefit for them.
Nowhere else in the United States is there
such a program that educates students
for the demands of the real world,
and provides them an opportunity
to become future leaders
of a multinational corporation.
When you get done
with school you then have the opportunity
to say "Yes I got this knowledge,
yes I got this degree,
but I also have a full years worth
of experience in the field
that I'm going into."
And I think that's a huge opportunity
and advantage for students.