Annual Professional Development Events

The Distinguished Seminar Speaker Series is a great opportunity to hear from top researchers in the field. Researchers present on a topic in the morning and are available to connect with students and faculty throughout the day. Seminars take place on select Fridays through the Fall semester.

The Careers in ME Symposium introduces second-year students to the wide range of careers available to them in mechanical engineering. Industry guests give mini-presentations on their work, participate in panels and join the students for a networking dinner.  The Careers in ME Symposium is a component of MCEN 2000.

Research Lunches provide students with an opportunity to speak in small groups with professors and graduate students about their research. The Research Lunches are a component of MCEN 2000.

ME Alumni Connect Day includes a full day of events designed to help graduate and undergraduate students connect with mechanical engineering alumni. Alumni volunteers and students participate in classroom panels, mock interviews, a graduate breakfast and a networking lunch. Alumni volunteers and faculty are invited to attend an alumni happy hour.

Throughout the semester, teams of mechanical engineering juniors work together to design and build drill-powered vehicles. The Component Design Run-off showcases their work through a variety of competitions (maneuverability, endurance, etc.), with a BBQ lunch provided by the student chapter of ASME.

ASME celebrates the end of each semester with a happy hour event for students, faculty, and alumni. The department also hosts an ongoing happy hour series throughout the semester.  

GEARRS is a recruiting event for prospective PhD students. The event provides an opportunity to showcase department research while introducing prospective students to the campus, faculty, and current students.  Participation is by invitation and questions can be directed to Anna Guy.

The Explore ME Events introduce first-year mechanical engineering students to a variety of fields and engagement opportunities related to mechanical engineering. They feature representatives of student organizations and upper-division students who have completed internships in a wide range of fields.

The Air Quality Inquiry project supplies K-12 classrooms with sophisticated but affordable sensors to conduct experiments in addition to college mentors to help guide their research. Each year, roughly 600 K-12 students and their teachers are impacted by the Air Quality Inquiry curriculum. K-12 students across Colorado present their projects at the close of the semester. More opportunities like this are currently being developed in areas beyond air quality.

ME Partners are companies and organizations that support the educational mission of the department by sponsoring design projects, interacting with students through recruiting and educational events, and providing input on department initiatives. ME Partner meetings are held annually just prior to the CU Engineering Projects Expo.

Students in capstone design and graduate design present their projects at the CU Engineering Projects Expo. The event is open to the public, with industry and alumni volunteers serving as judges.

The Mechanical Engineering Graduation Ceremony is a ticketed event and graduates will be contacted in February to RSVP their party ahead of time. After the ME Graduation Ceremony, the Department of Mechanical Engineering invites students, friends and family to attend the Mechanical Engineering Graduation Reception where you can introduce your family and friends to professors. mentors, staff and peers before beginning your journey as an alumnus.

Research & Innovation Week is a weeklong celebration and showcase of research, scholarship and creative works at CU Boulder. It is designed to elevate awareness across campus, build a sense of shared community, create opportunities for collaboration and recognize exceptional leadership and outcomes. Various opportunities are available throughout the week.

CU Engineering alumni are invited to a homecoming tailgate where they can enjoy food, drinks, lawn games and live music with fellow alumni, family and friends.

The ITL Design Expo is held twice a year, at the end of the fall and spring semesters. The event provides an opportunity for student groups from all engineering majors to display their projects for judges, fellow students and the public. Participation in the ITL Design Expo is mandatory for students taking GEEN 1400: First-Year Engineering Projects and GEEN 3400: Invention & Innovation.

CU Boulder engineering alumni are invited to participate alongside current graduating engineering students for the annual Ring & Pin Ceremony. This ceremony is for graduates and alumni who are pursuing careers of service to society and is an opportunity to pledge a professional oath of commitment to act ethically with competence, integrity, tolerance, respect and an obligation to serve humanity for the public good. Following the Ring & Pin Ceremony, there will be a reception to meet and connect with graduating students and fellow alumni. Light refreshments will be available. The event is complimentary, but you must register by January 18.

The Destination Startup Showcase is an opportunity to hear from top ventures from Colorado's leading research institutions. At the inaugural event, hundreds of innovators, investors and community leaders convened to watch 25 of Colorado’s researchers highlight the latest technologies emerging from their labs.

Catalyze CU is a summer startup accelerator program and launchpad for the most promising and impactful ventures created by students and/or faculty. The Demo Day event is the culmination of the summer program and an opportunity for teams to connect with the broader CU and front range entrepreneurial community.

ATLAS is an interdisciplinary institute for radical creativity and invention. At the ATLAS showcase, you will have the opportunity to explore more than 100 student projects including ingenious inventions in virtual reality, physical computing, mobile apps, human-computer interaction, design and big data.

The ITL Design Expo is held twice a year, at the end of the fall and spring semesters. The event provides an opportunity for student groups from all engineering majors to display their projects for judges, fellow students and the public. Participation in the ITL Design Expo is mandatory for students taking GEEN 1400: First-Year Engineering Projects and GEEN 3400: Invention & Innovation.

The New Venture Challenge (NVC) connects the CU Boulder campus with the Boulder community to develop and fund entrepreneurial ideas. Participants attend year-round events, network, and collaborate with mentors to refine their ideas and form teams before pitching for funding (up to $100,000) at the NVC Championships.

The College of Engineering and Applied Science holds networking meetups in various locations across the U.S. Details are available on the Regional Alumni Networks website.