Engineering Internships - Domestic and International
2011 Engineering graduate, Josh Locke, spent the summer of 2010 working for Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, KS. Click here for a link the work he did after only three years at Calvin. Josh has a concentration in Mechanical Engineering. Josh recently one 1st prize
in the Student Poster Competition at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers Noise and
Vibration Conference for his paper, "Aircraft Interior Noise Cold Damping Tests," which was based on his internship at Spirit AeroSystems and his research with Prof. R. DeJong.
Engineering Internship Video
Interning at Airbus 
Engineering student, Steven Brink, spends summer of 2010 in Germany on an internship with Airbus.
Brink said his Airbus experience is invaluable.
"It is impossible to understand how large companies operate while studying in the classroom,” he said. “But this summer I am learning how to interact with many languages and cultures every day at work, something that is a struggle and takes time to get used to because technical engineering terms are often hard to explain. I also am learning a lot about the airline industry and all its regulations. And I am learning subtle business aspects of multinational corporations.”
For Steven's full story.
Real-world Experience
We offer a very active internship program through which students are placed in engineering positions during the summer months. Placements are usually either in West Michigan or in the student’s hometown. The internship gives students an opportunity to experience what type of an engineer they want to be, actual job experience for their resume' and a job reference for future employment.
At the end of the summer, students create a poster to display at the Engineering Internship Poster Session held in the Engineering Building at Calvin. Read more about the poster session.
View some posters done by students from the summer of 2010.
Company Title |
Co. Location |
Student Name |
Concentration |
| Agri Process Innovations | Worstell, Nolan (SO) | ||
| AgriChem, Inc. | DeVries, Matthew (SO) | Mechanical | |
| Bissell Homecare | Walker, MI | Rekman, Brad (JR) | Chemical |
| Boehringer-Ingelheim | Ingelheimam Main, Germany | Pohler, Steve | Chemical |
| Debbie Mann Consulting | Lafayette, IN | Lyzenga, Paul (JR) | Electrical |
| EPA | Cincinnati, OH | Cok, Rhianna | Civil/Environmental |
| NTH Consultants | Koopman, Rachel (SR) | Civil | |
| Granco Clark Worldwide | Belding, MI | Griffioen, Drew (SR) | Mechanical |
| Innotec Group | Zeeland, MI | Dykhuis, Andrew | Mechanical |
| Innotec Group | Zeeland, MI | Johnson, Matt (JR) | Mechanical |
| Innotec Group | Zeeland, MI | Weaver, Seth (SO) | Mechanical |
| JCI | Holland, MI | Ball, Amy (SR) | Electrical |
| JCI | Holland, MI | Maduagwu, Nnamdi | |
| Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District | Milwaukee, WI | Boersma, Anna | Civil/Environmental |
| Moore & Bruggink, Inc. | Grand Rapids, MI | Lanting, Zach (JR) | Civil |
| NTH Consultants | Grand Rapids, MI | Morrison, Leah | Civil/Environmental |
| Progressive Surface Inc. | Grand Rapids, MI | VanderVennen, Rob (SR) | Mechanical |
| Raytheon | Tucson, AZ | Wiersma, Kendrick | Electrical/Computer |
| SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory | Menlo Park, CA | Sterk, Avery (JR) | Electrical/Computer |
| Spirit AeroSystems | Wichita, KS | Locke, Joshua (SR) | Mechanical |
| Tennant Co | Holland, MI | Ziegler, Dan (JR) | Electrical |
| TRW Koblenz | Koblenz, Germany | DeFrell, Marc and Flikweert, Joseph | Mechanical |
| Tulare Irrigation District | Tulare, CA | Scheenstra, Joshua | Civil/Environmental |
| URS Corp. | Michigan | Westerbeke, Joe (SO) | |
| Warren County Engineer's Office | Lebanon, OH | Parks, Jacob (JR) | Civil |
| Westinghouse Electric Co | Cranberry Township, PA | Kirkman, Jacqueline (SR) | Mechanical |
View some posters done by students from the summer of 2009.
| CITGO Petroleum Corporation | Michel, Eric (JR) | Chemical | |
| Galasso and Associates L.P. | Austin, TX | Kirkman, Jacqueline (JR) | Mechanical |
| Innotec | Zeeland, MI | Weaver, Seth (SO) | Mechanical |
| Kieser & Associates | Michigan | Dykstra, James | Civil/Environmental |
| Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District | Milwaukee, WI | Boersma, Anna | Civil/Environmental |
| New Archery Products | Forest Park, IL | Meyer, Nathan | |
| Northrop Grumman | DeKock, Brian | Mechanical | |
| Progressive Technologies | Grand Rapids, MI | VanderVennen, Rob (JR) | Mechanical |
| Raytheon | Tewkbury, MA | Evans, Dan (JR) | Electrical |
| Sensis Corporation | Syracuse, NY | Last, Matt (JR) | Mechanical |
| Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District | Eastern MI | Visser, Alan (SO) | Civil/Environmental |
| Unist Inc. | Grand Rapids, MI | Talen, Zach | Mechanical |
View some posters done by students from the summer of 2008:
| Ametek Aerospace | Sellersville, PA | Stutzman, Andrew | Electrical/Computer |
| Die Tech & Engineering, Inc. | VanDongen, Tyler (SR) | Mechanical | |
| Fusion Technology Group | Massachusetts | Gondhi, Jasper (SO) | Mechanical |
| General Motors | Pontiac, MI | Koopman, Rachel (SO) | Civil/Structural |
| Gentex Corporation | Zeeland, MI | Boorsma, Anthony (JR) and VanderSpek, Danny (JR) | Electrical/Computer |
| Innotec | Zeeland, MI | Nyenhuis, Dave (JR) | Mechanical |
| Keiser & Associates | Michigan | Dykstra, James | Civil/Environmental |
| Michigan Dept. of Transportation | Grand Rapids, MI | Van Laar, Jeff (SO) | Civil/Environmental |
| Moore & Bruggink, Inc. | Grand Rapids, MI | Geerlings, Eric | Civil |
| NASA | Love, Joel (JR) | Civil | |
| R.L. Millies & Associates | Munster, IN | Hromada, Lynette (JR) | Mechanical |
| Twisthink | Grand Rapids, MI | Moelker, David |
In over nine years of placing Calvin students in internships in Europe, engineering professor Ned Nielsen has noticed an interesting thing: engineering internships often lead to language study. A significant number of the nearly 40 students he has placed in Switzerland, Germany, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands have studied the language of their host country upon their return to the United States.
"That is unheard of for engineering majors," Nielsen says. "Their whole outlook on life changes." The cultural enrichment that comes from an overseas internship is essential for engineers, Nielsen believes. Now, as never before, "in engineering, you have to design for the whole world," he says.
"I had an e-mail two weeks ago from a company with an opening for a mechanical engineer who spoke German and who had international experience. How many people fit those criteria?" Nielsen asks. "I knew three."
A summer abroad has proven to be a valuable component in the student’s education.
Check out the blog by Katrina Denny. She spent the summer of 2009 in Germany.
Here are just a few examples:
North America
Medtronic Physio-Control
Redmond, WA
Decc Company
Grand Rapids, MI
Johnson Controls
Holland, MI
Halla Climate Control Canada
Belleville, OT, Canada
SDI Consultants
Oak Brook, IL
Pharmacia Corporation
Kalamazoo, MI
International
Pfizer Global Research and Development
Freiburg, Germany
Goldschmidt AG (Division of Degussa)
Mannheim, Germany
Rockwell Automation
Aarau, Switzerland
Pharmacia
Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Sulzer Repco B.V.
Netherlands
Requirements for Internship Credit
The internship must consist of engineering work at an appropriate level for a minimum of nine full-time consecutive weeks. Students must:
- Provide a written report of their activities under the signature of their supervisor to the Internship Coordinator, Prof. Ned Nielsen, and
- Make a formal presentation of the internship work done during the fall semester. This is typically done at the Internship Poster Session every October for returning sophomores and juniors. Seniors are asked to give oral presentations to first-year engineering students and students on an International Internship will give a department seminar. (Posters are to be created electronically using the Engineering Poster Policy and Guidelines.)
Courses
ENGR 185 Internship - Freshmen year Internship
ENGR 285 Internship - Sophomore year Internship
ENGR 385 Internship - Junior year Internship
ENGR 387 Internship- International Internship
Get Involved
Do you have the ability to place an intern with your company/employer? Please contact:
Professor Ned Nielsen
Engineering Internship Coordinator,
nnielsen@calvin.edu
616-526-6440
