This year I volunteered to advise our International Society of Automation (ISA) student club. We have a good number of participants across all five programs (electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, nuclear, industrial cyber) and fantastic student leadership.
The club determined to organize an Industrial Operations Combine – modeled after the NFL Scouting combine. We invite potential employers to come and see the students in action completing a challenge such as wiring up a PLC, interpreting a P&ID, running Wireshark. This gives them a great feel for what our students can really do, rather than just what a resume says.
Participating employers receive resumes and contact details for all candidates, and can schedule interviews for the next day. If this sounds intriguing, come and check it out. Then sign up to bring a challenge next year!