In the midst of Year 3 of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, the University of Washington (UW) EcoCAR team collaborated with competition sponsor, Bosch, to provide team members with a valuable networking opportunity.
The University of Washington (UW) EcoCAR team previously participated in EcoCAR 2 from 2011-2014 and EcoCAR 3 from 2014-2018. Now, they are one of 11 teams participating in the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, the latest competition of the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) series.
In the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, teams are given a stock 2019 Chevrolet Blazer and must improve multiple functions including energy efficiency, autonomy, and Mobility as a Services (MaaS).
Throughout the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, teams not only receive help from the competition organizers and their own universities, but from a variety of competition sponsors who donate anything from tools, parts, training, technical support, software, and/or financial support.
Bosch is one of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge’s sponsors. As a leading global supplier of technology and services, Bosch focuses on improving the quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. Their four main sectors include mobility, consumer goods, industrial technology, and energy and building technologies.
Bosch donates each team hardware, software, and technical support for the Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) swimlane, as well as electric motors and inverters for the team’s propulsion systems. This year, Bosch also collaborated with the UW team’s Communication Managers to hold two separate events for team members to attend virtually.
The first group event informed students of job and internship opportunities available at Bosch and gave them tips on how to navigate the new online job application world. It also included a special presentation from former Embry-Riddle EcoCAR Alumni Clinton Ploch, who discussed with team members how EcoCAR prepared him for his career at Bosch and gave insight on what working at Bosch is like on a day-to-day basis. “It’s only been a few years that I was in their place. Any way I can give back and help students achieve their goals I’m glad to help”, said Ploch.
To further prepare students for the future, the second event organized was a series of one-on-ones with a panel of 12 Bosch associates from both Engineering and Human Resources roles. These one-on-one meetings provided students with valuable networking experiences to learn more about Bosch as a whole, talk about internship and job opportunities, get their resumes reviewed, and receive interview advice, on top of getting answers to any personal questions students may have had.
Lisa Tipton, Employer Branding Specialist at Bosch, spoke on the success of the event and why it was a great experience not only for the students, but for Bosch as well.
“I am pleased Bosch was able to collaborate with the University of Washington communications team to host the mock interview workshop event. We are not allowing COVID-19 to stand in our way to connect with top talent.”
These events helped further prepare team members for their future endeavors by learning more about the opportunities available to them and gaining valuable interviewing and networking experiences.
“Within EcoCAR, we’re so fortunate to be given the opportunity to develop ourselves professionally and receive outlook from such an established organization. It’s not something we, as students, generally have access to and I’m so gracious to receive aid in development” – Jina Duangtavanh, PSI Member
“It was an amazing experience where I got to see my strengths from a recruiter’s point of view. This interaction was a great learning experience” – Aakriti Thakur, CAVs Member
As a global leader in technology and services, Bosch’s ongoing support goes a long way into supporting the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, the team, and its team members as they pursue future career opportunities.
The University of Washington EcoCAR team, and all of its team members, would like to thank Bosch for donating its time, resources, and knowledge to students. The team looks forward to continuing its strong relationship with Bosch throughout this EcoCAR competition and in future competitions to come.
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