RCEL’s core undergraduate program is the Certificate in Engineering Leadership:

• A concentration within the School of Engineering & Computing providing rigorous training in professional communication, leadership skills and project management.
• Formal sequence of 11 credit hours:
  • Four courses in leadership skill development
  • Senior-level course in project management
  • At least one summer internship
  • Capstone elective focusing on a specific career area
• Each course is centered on team projects, individualized coaching, and detailed self-assessment.
• Business communication is a core component of every course.
• The RCEL concentration is in addition to the student’s academic major.
• Admission to the RCEL concentration is by application – not more than 15% of the Engineering student body is accepted.

Compared to other new hires, RCEL students consistently show:

• Lower professional learning curve: RCEL graduates enter the workforce equipped with key knowledge and skills to succeed in their first job – not just insight on leading, but also how to follow, work in teams, communicate effectively, make timely decisions, and operate in a customer-focused, mission-driven environment.
• Higher professional readiness: Through the structured coaching and hands-on experience embedded in the program, RCEL students have already worked out many of the “growing pains” that new graduates often experience.
• Faster path to responsibility: Our experience is that RCEL graduates not only perform more effectively in their first work assignment, but also tend to be promoted faster, and are measurably more likely to be selected for leadership tracks.

Hiring an RCEL summer intern does not impose any extra obligation on the company, but we do place extra responsibility on the students. They are required to:

• Before starting: prepare a plan of learning objectives – about the industry and about themselves – that they would like to accomplish during their internship.
• Upon completion: present a detailed report to the RCEL faculty at then end of their internship.

There are many ways to recruit at RCEL:

• Share your job opportunity (whether full-time or internship) or recruiting event - we will communicate it directly to RCEL students.
• Hold a “pizza talk” or similar event with RCEL students.
• Volunteer for “Engineer in the Room” and speaking opportunities in RCEL courses (see below). One of the ways to represent your company is to take part in one of our classes or workshops as a volunteer. You will get to know our students first-hand, and vice versa.
• Become an RCEL Corporate Partner. Our Corporate Partners have preferential opportunities to identify and interact with RCEL students throughout the year.
• Whenever you are recruiting Rice Engineering & Computing students, look for the ones with RCEL on their resume or the RCEL lapel pin.

To learn more about recruiting at RCEL, please contact George Webb, RCEL Industry Relations Director.