The U of A Career Development Center, in partnership with the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, the College of Engineering and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is launching a new event this summer for STEM graduate students.

Accelerate to Industry (A2i) is a face-to-face professional development conference aiming to connect students to industry and fill industry skills gaps.

Accelerate to Industry applications are now open to graduate-level STEM students, and priority applications close on Tuesday, March 15. All interested students should apply at career.uark.edu/cdc/students/events/a2i.

The conference will be held at the Fayetteville Public Library July 19-21. Students will learn from industry professionals (from various positions, including the C-suite) about topics including regulatory affairs, intellectual property, intrapreneurship, leadership and more. In addition, students will also participate in a resume review, mock interview and a team project.

"With our inaugural A2i conference, we are hoping to create more opportunities for graduate students to connect with and prepare for industry," said Kelsey Lavigne, director of employer relations for engineering. "According to the National Science Board's Science and Engineering Indicators 2018, only 14.4 percent of science, engineering and health doctoral students work in a tenure or tenure-track faculty position within three years of graduation, underlining the fact that preparing for work in industry is vital for today's graduate students, both master's and doctoral."

A2i is a professional development conference originally developed by North Carolina State University in 2017. The program started with one conference and has since expanded to include five modules. NC State has partnered with over 20 institutions around the world to help graduate students and postdoctoral scholars navigate their transition from academia to industry.

Past participants of A2i at other institutions have had strong outcomes, including job and internship offers. They also reported an increase in confidence in their search process due to the skills and information that A2i provided them.

"Often as graduate students, we are siloed in our labs and don't get opportunities to make industry connections," said Shreya Erramilli, a Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering at NC State. "Immersion week offers an opportunity to do just that. Not only did we get to practice critical skills such as elevator pitches and develop effective resumes, we got to hear from professionals in various fields and from various career paths. We learned not only these skills, but were able to make connections which are crucial to successfully navigating a competitive job market."

To apply or find out more information, visit career.uark.edu/cdc/students/events/a2i.