If you are on the hunt for an internship, mentor or full-time job, the University of Florida’s Career Showcase — a three-day event connecting hundreds of employers with thousands of students and alumni — is a staple. This fall, Gators majoring within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering can look forward to even more networking opportunities with three field-specific career fairs.
Alongside this year’s Career Showcase in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, the Career Connections Center in the Division of Student Life, will host the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Career Fair, which will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 26. On Sept. 28, the Material Science and Nuclear Engineering Career Fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Career Fair from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Erin Lin, senior Assistant director for Career Pathways and liaison for the College of Engineering, said department-specific fairs allow employers to seek out students in particular disciplines.
“We want to go beyond a one-solution-fits-all model,” she said. “Our goal is to individualize the career fair experience to make it less intimidating and overwhelming.”
By piloting both the Material Science and Nuclear Engineering and the Agricultural and Biological Engineering career fairs, the Career Connections Center hopes to establish a more effective in-person networking environment for students.
The Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Career Fair was piloted in Spring 2022 and sought to introduce AI to the existing computer science fair.
AI refers to the ability of computers or robots controlled by computers to accomplish tasks typically done by humans, and it has become a highly popular technology in various areas of business.
“We talk about AI in the near future,” Lin said. “In the workplace, AI is happening everywhere. You may not actually be creating AI, but you have to work with AI.”
46 employers are registered for the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Career Fair.
In the past, field-specific career fairs were hosted by the departments themselves. By partnering with the Career Connections Center, the College of Engineering is able to maximize the impact of these fairs for students. The center’s platform allows for a larger hosting space and greater access to employers, Lin said.
Students who attend one or multiple of this fall’s fairs will hopefully find themselves in a tailored networking environment, as the pool of actual employers will be smaller and more catered toward a specific discipline. The limited size of the fairs will also reduce wait times when it comes to talking with each employer.
“Compared to the campus-wide career fair, this is more focused,” Lin said.
Writer: Veronica Nocera, vnocera@ufsa.ufl.edu
Source: Erin Lin, leilin@ufl.edu