As we move to an ever-changing world driven by artificial intelligence, Purdue University Office of Professional Practice transported 30 students from West Lafayette and Indianapolis for a transformative trek across Silicon Valley. 

Since the inaugural trip in 2022, over 100 students have now converged to the home of tech giants like Apple, Tesla, ASML, Intel, Google and more. With over 100+ students who applied for the experience, this was a record-breaking application year. Students gained the experience to tour Apple Park, walk the halls of Google, learn from Purdue engineers in practice and connect with one of the largest alumni bases in the country. 

 

Office Of Professional Practice Associate Director of Industry Engagement & Partnerships, Patrick Francis explained the impact of the alumni interactions for the students during this program. “The Purdue alumni are the secret to this trip. Their pursuits of excellence paired with their humility and Purdue pride makes this a special memory for these students.”  

 

Students kicked off their first experience exploring the Tesla manufacturing site in Fremont, California. As the company’s original manufacturing facility, many Purdue alumni have built careers and are now sharing experiences by hosting dozens of internships and co-ops every work term. 

 

Through interacting with alumni during the trip, every student could take away information or a memorable experience that they will be able to apply to their future professional career.  Brian Schmidt, a junior in Mechanical Engineering shared his takeaways from his interactions.  “The networking opportunities afforded to me were transformational. This trip was a week-long clinic in professionalism and presentation of oneself, and I am extremely grateful that I was able to be a part of it,” Schmidt expressed.  “I had an interview for a co-op on the Monday following this trip, and I have never felt so charismatic and comfortable speaking with an industry professional.” 

 

Cohort #4 of the Silicon Valley study away program embodied a strong spirit for semiconductors with a third of the students engaged in Purdue's comprehensive new Semiconductor Degrees Program (SDP). ASML was an eye-opening visit where students were exposed to one of the “world’s suppliers to the semiconductor industry.” 

 

The group also met with Alejandro Lavernia, Purdue Mechanical Engineering alum, during the first visit to Bloom Energy. Lavernia serves as an Engineering Project Manager, Development. As a Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (GEARE) alum, his ability to highlight industry within a travel experience was a special nod to his time at Purdue. 

“On the trip, I was astounded by the amount of opportunity for mechanical engineers in Silicon Valley. Electric vehicles, lithography machines, MacBooks, energy cells, and satellites all require design, manufacturing, quality, and test engineers,” Schmidt explained. “This trip reassured me that mechanical engineers will be an integral part of the coming era of Artificial Intelligence, despite being a less software-intensive major.” 

 

Another stop on the trip was Astranis, founded by John Geckman, which produces large-scale satellites for space operations. Students were impressed by the technology and participated in an alumni panel with guests from AAE and ECE on how they found themselves in SV and Astranis. 

 

The group took a visit to Gatik,founded by two friends at Purdue, co-founder and CTO Arjun Narang was thrilled to host students again this year. At Gatik students got experience of the world of autonomous vehicle delivery.  

 

The exchange of Boilermaker pride and tech conversation continued as the group made their way to Google. During the visit, Bay Area alumni club president Brett Highley and former Purdue faculty, Mike McLennan hosted a session with a variety of alums and topical knowledge sessions. These interactions left the students hungry for more conversations and questions. 

 

Alumni from the surrounding Bay Area inspired the group to jump right in at an evening reception hosted by the Silicon Valley Boilermaker Innovation Group (SVBIG) in conjunction with a network of young alums curated by friends of OPP and SVBIG. It was an evening filled with conversation from many alums as they were able to walk down memory lane with the eager students on the trip. 

 

Throughout the week, students also visited Apple Park, met with Brett Madsen, Senior Business Development Manager for OPM, at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, stopped by Western Digital, walked through the Microsoft campus, and attended the NVIDIA GTC Summitwhere the students immersed themselves at the premier AI Conference and learn from top industry innovators in tech.  

This study away program in SIlicon Valley offered students a greater exposure to all facets of the tech industry, combining site visits and an incredible support system from former Boilermakers. As these students continue through their career with technology at the forefront, they will be able to apply the information and experiences from this trip to their professional careers.  

 

 

Story by: Patrick Francis, Margaret Mowrer, Jenny Strickland