Nearly 500 first-year students expected for annual NUBE Experience, E-Day

More than 490 first-year University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering students will participate in industry and business tours as part of the annual two-day NUBE Experience, Aug. 22-23 in Omaha.

“E-Day,” the students’ Omaha-based experience Aug. 23, will connect incoming engineering students with the region’s top employers through tours and a career expo. The message: “Come for the education, stay for the careers.”

“E-Day connects our first-year students with real opportunities in engineering. Our industry partners are fantastic to work with and companies are eager to offer tours and be a part of their first impressions of engineering,” said Jen Skidmore, director of student development for the College of Engineering. “Omaha is a great fit for this event, as there are tour sites for all of our majors. Our students are from all over the state and country, so this tour day helps them see the possibility of becoming a professional engineer here in Nebraska.”

This is the eighth year of E-Day and marks a return to Omaha, where the 2014 and 2017 events were held. The event is coordinated in partnership with the Greater Omaha Chamber and includes a Company Expo (featuring 17 organizations) from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Windsor Ballroom at the Embassy Suites-La Vista.

“The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering is world-class,” said David G. Brown, president and CEO, Greater Omaha Chamber. “Our region’s engineering students are in for a powerful E-Day experience that will allow them to accelerate their careers with global organizations right here in Greater Omaha.”

With talent strategists and economic developers predicting an uptick in the need for engineering professionals (demand for new technology, infrastructure refinements and innovative materials continues to rise), students say they value the E-Day experience.

"Going on the industry tour last year was a great experience because I was able to see possible job opportunities and network with professionals who are doing what I want to do in the future,” said Sarah Kwapnioski, a Columbus, Nebraska, native and sophomore electrical engineering student on the Scott Campus in Omaha. “Learning about different work environments, and then experiencing them firsthand, made me even more excited to study electrical engineering."

The NUBE Experience is a free welcome event for first-hyear students, designed to connect them to other engineering students, faculty and their majors before the first day of classes. The annual E-Day industry tours and networking opportunities give students the chance to meet with representatives from engineering industry, including many Nebraska alumni. Students will also learn what professional engineers do and about future employment and internship opportunities.

Participating organizations in the E-Day events include: Kiewit, CommTech Global Solutions, LLC., Buildertrend, Alvine Engineering, Conagra Brands, HDR, Inc., HGM Associates, JEO Consulting Group Inc., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District, Lamp Rynearson, Lozier, CLAAS North America, Olsson, Terracon Consultants, Inc., Turner Construction, Metropolitan Utilities District, Valmont Industries Inc., City of Omaha, Diversified Products, LLC, Flywheel, NECO, Novozymes, Spreetail, Syngenta, Union Pacific, University of Nebraska Medical Center.