MADISON, Wis.—Program Directors Christine Nicometo and Susan Ottmann attended WE Local Baltimore and Tampa this month and have plans to travel to St. Louis, Denver, and Bellevue. WE Local is a program created by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to connect participants of all career stages from college to retirement in regional networks nationwide. At the EPD booth, WE Local attendees have the opportunity to meet with program directors, such as Christine and Susan, to learn which online graduate programs and other professional development activities may best fit their career goals.
WE Local conferences attract a mix of graduating seniors, practicing engineering professionals, and senior leaders from a variety of institutions and organizations around the country. As the prominence and reach of EPD’s online graduate programs continues to grow, so does the regional diversity of their graduate student population. This growth makes the WE Local conferences around the nation a perfect place for EPD to connect with future students.
“It’s wonderful to see the interest and recognition of UW–Madison and Engineering Professional Development’s programs as we attend these conferences around the country,” remarked program director, Christine Nicometo, after returning from Baltimore, “UW–Madison’s reputation as a force in education and research is renown not just in the Midwest, but around the world. It’s great to see Badger Pride on display wherever we go!”
Susan Ottmann noted the changes she has witnessed in engineering demographics and in the career goals of young engineers during the course of her career:
“I am really inspired by the talented women I have met recently at the WE Local Events. I remember when I was a young engineer and there were very few women in engineering. Today we are seeing talented women both graduating from prestigious programs as well as working in very interesting jobs making an impact to their companies. These female engineers are looking at ways to advance their careers and are looking to pursue a masters to help in their personal development. As our programs are online and designed for the working professional they are the right fit for many of the attendees of the WE conferences. I look forward to continuing to attend and support this talented group of female leaders and technical professionals”
Interested in EPD’s online graduate degree programs? We offer a variety of ways to understand the experience and its impact on your career, as well as tips for your application.