STEM recruiting: The show must still go on

June 8, 2021

More than a year after COVID-19 brought life to a standstill, travel and in-person events have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. However, creating a robust and diverse STEM pipeline is still a priority for DOE and the nation, so ORISE continues to explore alternatives when it comes to recruiting scientific and technical talent. During the past quarter, ORISE participated in several online outreach events, helping to raise ORISE’s profile within the internship community. ORISE was ranked number nine on Handshake’s list of 500 in-demand companies for internships and the number one organization for research. Here are a few examples of recent virtual events and the results they generated:

• Virtual ORISE Information Session: In addition to general ORISE information, 158 attendees (22 percent of registrants) learned about research opportunities with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the ORISE Undergraduate Scholarship.
• Government, Education, and Non-Profit Career Fair: ORISE representatives spoke with 39 attendees in one-to-one sessions and held five general informational group presentations for another 85 attendees.
• Ph.D. & Master’s Virtual Career Expo: Sponsored by the Graduate Career Consortium, an international organization supporting the career and professional development of graduate students and postdocs, ORISE program staff and recruiters met with 125 Ph.D. and master’s students, postdocs, and alumni from 33 universities in diverse STEM disciplines in group and one-to-one chats about internship and fellowship opportunities at DOE and other federal agencies.
• Virtual ORISE Information Session: In addition to general ORISE information, 198 attendees (44 percent of registrants) learned about research opportunities with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. DOE Office of Science’s Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships and Community College Internships programs.
• Big 12, SEC and ACC Virtual Career Fairs: Twenty-one ORISE recruiters introduced 41 attendees from nine different universities to ORISE research participation programs and sponsors. A second multi-university outreach event took place for the SEC/ACC Virtual Career Fair.