Get Involved with the IDEA Engineering Student Center
By working together with the IDEA Center, we build students academic, technical, and professional skillsets both inside and outside the classroom. Our staff team are experts in research-informed best practices for engineering student success. Here are ways faculty and the IDEA Center collaborate:
- Join our community of practice focused on engineering student success
- Mentor an apprentice in GEAR
- Mentor an engineering organization
- Provide a technical talk
- Host a soft skills workshop or panel
- Join the IDEA Center Faculty Advisory Board
Have an event you want advertised in our weekly E-News?
Supporting your students with the IDEA Center
You are on the front-lines of student support. Should you have any concerns about a student - whether academic or otherwise - the IDEA Center can ensure you and your student are connected to the right resources.
We highly encourage you to refer to UC San Diego's Case Management site on supporting students with distress. Here are some additional resources you will find:
And if you're not sure where to start, contact Sara Eckardt, Assistant Director of the IDEA Center directly.
sleckardt@ucsd.edu I 858-822-3780
IDEA Center Faculty Advisory Board
The IDEA Engineering Student Center's Faculty Advisory Board provides insight and innovative partnership for engineering student success. Members of the Faculty Advisory Board meet biannually and are involved in and a variety of student success initiatives within the IDEA Center, from NSF projects to programmatic pilots. To participate in the Faculty Advisory Board, talk to your department chair and connect with Executive Director of Student Success, Alex Phan.
View Faculty Advisory Board Members
Mentor an Apprentice in your Research Lab
Guided Engineering Apprenticeship in Research (GEAR) is a year-long research apprenticeship program for students who have not had the opportunities to get involved with research in the Jacobs School of Engineering. GEAR creates an equitable pathway for all to experience research.
By partnering with the IDEA Center to provide your lab as an apprenticeship...
Students will...
- Receive holistic mentorship from IDEA mentors throughout the year.
- Participate in ENG 20: "Introduction to Engineering Research"
- Engage in workshops and socials.
- Conduct a poster presentation in Spring.
Faculty will...
- Have a graduate mentor available within their lab.
- Mentor a dyad of students within their labs.
- Know that their apprentice is receiving fundamental training and guidance from the IDEA Center team.
- Check in with the IDEA Center should their student need support.
To learn more or participate, reach out to Executive Director of Student Success, Alex Phan.