Success Program Launch: Talent Pipeline for Black Engineering, Comp Sci Students

By Ashley Mowreader

For many college students, identifying a career path and establishing the skills they need to land their first postgraduate job can be a challenge. A 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed, conducted by Generation Lab, found 68 percent of students are at least somewhat stressed thinking about and preparing for their life after college.

A cohort of students at Howard and Prairie View A&M Universities have one less thing to be stressed about, as they are participating in a guaranteed-job program through the industrial software company AVEVA, which supports students’ financial wellness in college and equips them for their first job at the company after completing their degree.

What’s the need: STEM fields have frequently been unwelcoming or less accessible to students from historically marginalized backgrounds, including low-income and first-generation learners, as well as those from racial minority groups. The number of Black graduates in engineering and math programs has been on the decline, with only 7 percent of STEM bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black students, according to 2018 data.

Financial barriers can also hinder learners’ success in STEM fields. A 2023 report from RTI International found Black scientists, in addition to being underrepresented among Ph.D. recipients in STEM fields, are more likely to carry student debt compared to their non-Black peers.

Historically Black colleges and universities, like Howard and Prairie View A&M, play an important role in educating and preparing the Black STEM workforce—HBCUs are responsible for graduating 25 percent of Black STEM majors and 10 percent of Black computer science majors, as of 2020.

The AVEVA scholarship program both helps the company build a diverse talent pool and creates opportunities for historically marginalized students to gain experiential learning and hands-on training before graduation.

How it works: The three-year AVEVA Scholars Program is open to sophomores as of fall 2024 who are majoring in engineering or computer science. In the initial cohort, there are 12 AVEVA scholars, six from Howard and six from Prairie View A&M, says Debbie Install, senior vice president of inclusion and engagement at the company.

Throughout their time in the program, students will receive a $14,000 scholarship per year. Additionally, students fly to the company’s Houston office for a six-week on-site experience, which is supported through free housing and a $7,000 stipend.

During this visit, scholars get to engage with one another as well as AVEVA leaders to gain networking, interpersonal, etiquette, presentation and time management skills.

“While these skills may seem self-explanatory, they differ significantly from classroom expectations,” Install says. “Many graduates find themselves underprepared for the corporate environment, and our goal is to equip these students with the awareness and abilities they need to excel in their careers.”

Current employees will also provide training on AVEVA’s business and products through job shadowing and technical activities such as problem-solving group sessions, coding exercises and Shark Tank–style presentations.As part of the company’s Action for Good initiative, which focuses on service and community support work, participants will work with senior citizens with technology-related questions.

 While the students are at college, the AVEVA early careers team will conduct regular check-ins, provide support as needed and assist with their internship placements in 2025.

If students remain engaged throughout the program, including participating in AVEVA internships during summers 2025 and 2026, they’ll land a full-time job at AVEVA upon graduation in spring 2026.

The program officially started in June. AVEVA doesn’t have present plans to scale the initiative; the company is focusing on the inaugural cohort for now before considering expansion, Install says.