JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst and Stevens Institute of Technology recently renewed their Educational Partnership Agreement (EPA) to streamline qualified Stevens graduates into the Navy workforce and provide continued education for current NAWCAD Lakehurst employees.
“NAWCAD Lakehurst has always been on the lookout for extraordinary individuals wanting to make an impact on Naval Aviation,” said Kathleen Donnelly, NAWCAD Lakehurst executive director. “By renewing the EPA with Stevens, NAWCAD Lakehurst continues to spread awareness of our extensive career opportunities for students going into STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics].”
EPAs help recruit qualified students into the Navy workforce. As an organization built on a foundation of technology, the NAWCAD Lakehurst team includes engineers and scientists supporting naval aviation.
“These technical fields require individuals with specialized knowledge and understanding of operating principles in order to retain effective practices,” said Haidy Oliveira, NAWCAD Lakehurst education outreach coordinator. “By encouraging new students to enter STEM fields, we are able to inspire them to master this specialized knowledge and later apply it to our Naval Aviation mission.”
With the renewed agreement, Stevens will provide students in engineering, science and computer science degree programs to work as NAWCAD Lakehurst interns.
Stevens will also allow NAWCAD Lakehurst employees to pursue a master’s in Systems Engineering at the university and receive graduate funding under the Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) Section 219 Project, which has funded graduate classes for over five years.
To date, 32 NAWCAD Lakehurst employees have enrolled in Stevens’ master’s program and 65 students have graduated.
NAWCAD Lakehurst anticipates hiring 10 full-time interns and six summer interns from Stevens in 2021.
For the past five years, Stevens has participated in NAWCAD Lakehurst’s University Capstone Project Program, which brings students together to provide academic and career advice, and opportunities to conduct research pertaining to current Navy engineering problems.
“NAWCAD Lakehurst has found abundant success with these students in the past, and we anticipate the addition of skilled and passionate new employees thanks to the renewed EPA,” Oliveira said.