Collins Aerospace Announces Partnership

The College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois University has announced the start of a formal cooperation with Collins Aerospace Electric Power Systems branch in Rockford. Collins’ $50,000 donation will assist the new effort, which will help the college expand its diversity, equity, and inclusion programming. Collins and NIU will enhance their resources and career networking possibilities as part of the new programme, which will boost the amount of engagement between the company and students.

NIU’s branches of the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society for Women Engineers will benefit from the partnership. The percentage of Hispanic students in CEET increased from 17 percent in 2019 to 21 percent in 2020. At the same period, the number of Asian students climbed from 5% to 7%, and the number of female engineering students increased from 14% to 16.9%.

“At NIU, we are committed to creating a culture of discovery and innovation,” said Donald Peterson, Ph.D. dean of CEET. “Creating a welcoming environment for all of our students is essential to fulfilling the college’s mission. We’re delighted that Collins Aerospace is partnering with us to further our diversity, equity and inclusion programming and provide new opportunities to our students.”

Diversity in engineering and STEM areas, in general, provides firms with various benefits, according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), including higher innovation, a bigger talent pool, increased customer happiness, and it is simply more ethical. Furthermore, according to ASME, companies who invest in diversity efforts have higher profits and greater long-term performance.