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Co-op Program
Issue 3
August 2014
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
In this issue:
What is a Co-op?. . . . . . . . . . . 1
What is a Co-op?
The Co-op Program brings the worlds of education
and work together through alternating periods of fulltime work and full-time study.
On the job, a Co-op employee contributes a fair day’s
work for a fair day’s pay while gaining the experience
necessary for understanding the importance of
education. In the classroom, the student studies
state-of-the-art theory and learns how that theory
can be applied on the job. The merging of study and
work produces a top quality education for the top
quality person.
To the employer, the Co-op Program offers a resource
of the best of today’s graduates. These benefits are
in addition to the value received from the enthusiastic
workforce of Co-op employees.
Co-op vs. intern
n Tag-team rotations of two Co-ops allow
for continuous support of work on a team
at CMI for the whole year.
nContinuity:
• Up to one year continuous work session for
Co-op vs. 10 weeks for an internship
• Co-ops have the opportunity to return to the
previous work assignment unlike interns
• More complex and meatier projects can
be assigned to Co-op due to the length of
the assignment
n Co-ops level out the summer intern wave
(housing, IT needs, etc.)
n Variety of work:
• Opportunity for Co-ops to experience various
departments due to the rotational nature of
the program
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• Allows Co-op students / Cummins to determine
best position for full-time employment
Co-op vs. intern. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Types of Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Interview: Elizabeth Spratt . . . . 3
Current Co-op stories . . . . 4 – 6
Recruiters’ interviewing tips. . . 7
For more information . . . . . . . . 7
Co-op Program
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
Types of Co-op
Three-Session Co-op
One-Year Intensive Internship
In this program, students spend all three work sessions with a single
employer, much like five-session Co-op students. Students begin
in the fall, spring, or summer of their junior year. This program is a
transcript-recorded experience and provides an academic certificate
upon completion.
Students are recruited following their sophomore year
and participate during their junior year.
Year and Term
1
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Year Year Year Year Year
FS SS FS SS FS SS FS SS FS SS
Plan A
Plan B
Plan C
Plan D
Plan E
Students start their Co-op positions after their freshman or
sophomore year and complete four or five work sessions with the
same employer host organization. As they progress through their
work sessions, Co-ops begin to perform jobs they would expect
to do upon graduation. This program is a transcript-recorded
experience and provides an academic certificate upon completion.
1
2
nd
3
rd
4
th
5
th
Year Year Year Year Year
FS SS FS SS FS SS FS SS FS SS
2
The Office of Professional Practice (OPP) provides work integrated
learning programs. The newest addition to OPP’s portfolio of
programs is the Masters Co-op Program. Students who graduate
from this program will not only meet all MS degree requirements
in their specific discipline, but also have significant graduate-level
industrial experience within a profession of their choice.
Key
Year and Term
st
Schedule B
FS SS FS SS FS SS FS SS FS SS
Plan A
Plan B
Masters Co-op Continuous / Rotational
Five-Session Co-op
Schedule A
2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Year Year Year Year Year
Year and Term
st
On Campus
Work Session
Optional On Campus
Co-op Program
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
Interview: Elizabeth (Betsy) Spratt
HMLD Systems and Tech FE, Executive Director
What groups did you co-op with at Cummins?
Heavy Duty Engineering New Product Development
(twice), Application Engineering, Manufacturing
Engineering (Product Engineering)
BSME Purdue,
4 Rotation Co-op
(1984–1988)
Explain one of your favorite rotations. What
types of projects were you tasked to complete?
I was working in the New Product Development
group and there was a Design issue with the Big
Cam III engine — and I was tasked with doing a
tolerance stack-up on the engine — the whole train (crank-rod-valve train
etc) to figure out the clearance problem. This was when design was done
on drawing boards, no computers, and every engine component had
a drawing. The work we were doing was nothing like the classes I was
taking and it made me realize that what I would be doing for a living as
an engineer, at least if I was working at Cummins, would be very different
than school, and I liked that! I also liked very much the work that was given
to me as they were challenging projects that I was pretty much left on my
own to figure out. Lots of people around for me to ask questions, find out
where /who / what, etc., but it was up to me to ask, and figure it out on my
own. This is what I liked about Cummins the most.
What did you like best about being a co-op?
I liked learning the basics of real engineering work, which was totally
different than school — no theory, formulas to derive, but instead general
engineering knowledge, problem solving, and working with different kinds
of people. I learned all of the ins and outs of the different functions, labs,
roles within an engine company.
What do you think are the main benefits to co-op’ing
for the student?
Learning different types of engineering functions and roles, and probably
more importantly, learning what you do NOT like to do, as much as
learning what you DO like to do. Then, subtly, getting to know lots of new
people that work in all kinds of interesting engineering areas that you may
cross paths with, have an impact on your long term career much later in
life that you didn’t even know or think about while you were a co-op.
What are the benefits for managers to hire co-ops?
Getting to know up and coming candidates that could / would be good
long term employees. Also utilizing the experience to understand things
from a new person’s view, and make improvements to the group /
department / processes / etc. to help in the future.
What is one piece of advice you’d give a hiring manager about
recruiting / hiring co-op students?
Give the students a chance . . . Give them a stretch assignment/project
and let them work it out . . . Know what level (what year) of co-op student
you are getting so you tailor the assignment to match the capabilities, but
give them work they can not only learn from, but feel they are contributing
and adding value to the team / group in a productive way.
(continued on page 6)
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Co-op Program
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
Current Co-op stories
Mukul Mohan Aggarwal
My name is Mukul Mohan Aggarwal. I am a senior,
pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical
Engineering with minors in Entrepreneurship and
Global Engineering Studies at Purdue University. I am
originally from New Delhi, India. I had the opportunity
to work as a co-op with Cummins for 1.5 years spread
over three domestic and one international work rotation. For my first three
rotations, I worked as a fuel pump development engineer at Cummins Fuel
Systems facility in Columbus, IN. Going into my co-op as a sophomore,
I was excited to apply all the concepts that I had acquired in school and
further hone my technical and communication skills. The spectrum of
projects that I worked on was very vast. From brainstorming together
with fellow engineers, prototyping, designing, programming, writing test
plans, procuring hardware, conducting performance tests and root cause
analysis to cost reduction projects, it was a huge learning curve for me.
A co-op with Cummins not only improves one’s technical competence
but also helps in developing conceptual, organizational, verbal/listening
and human relation skills. It also provides one an opportunity to lead
projects, work with cross functional teams, experience different cultures
and get involved within the community through volunteer initiatives.
Even though I chose to work with the same team for all my rotations,
a co-op student has the option to undertake a new role every time he
returns for a rotation; thus enabling him to explore different parts of the
company. Another advantage of the program is the exposure to executive
leadership speaker series, standard industrial trainings and after work
social events / activities for co-ops.
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To conclude, I strongly believe that Cummins can take you places.
As a part of a study abroad program at Purdue, I was required to
complete an international internship. As always, Cummins was there to
support me in my endeavors. I successfully completed my fourth work
rotation as a product design engineer at Cummins Emission Solutions
facility in Marktheidenfeld, Germany. Language barrier, different way
of communication, work ethic and approach to engineering made it a
challenging and exciting experience. I realized the importance of diversity
in engineering solutions and how to embrace it.
Mohan enjoying a team dinner with his fellow Co-op project
members along with other Cummins employees
Co-op Program
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
Current Co-op stories
Nitesh Bajaj
My name is Nitesh Bajaj and I am a recent graduate of the Purdue
Mechanical Engineering Program (May 2014). Though I wasn´t
involved with Cummins as a Co-op, I did have the opportunity to work
at Cummins in China through the GEARE program. I had various
other internships through my time at Purdue, but because of the
complexities of international work, it was very difficult to also find those
internships abroad. Cummins has been a long-time strong supporter
of the GEARE program, and they were able to give me an interview
for a position at Cummins Filtration in China. After finishing my study
abroad program in Shanghai, I found myself moving out to Wuhan for
the summer to work at the East Asia R&D Center.
The experience I had at Cummins
Filtration in Wuhan was truly amazing.
For the first half of the summer, I spent
my time in the filtration test lab, working
with the technicians to gain a hands-on
understanding of how the products work.
During the second half, I got to work with
the design team and make changes in
Bajaj standing at the
Cummins East Asia R&D Center
in Wuhan, China.
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CAD for new filtration products. Not only did I learn a lot technically,
but I also was able to really immerse myself into the work culture and
grasp the differences between business in the US and abroad. Even
outside of work, I was able to enjoy Chinese culture with the local
engineers employed there. We would play badminton, go out to eat,
and sing karaoke together. My international internship with Cummins
was definitely one of the most influential and memorable parts of my
college career, and I would highly recommend the experience to any
other interns or co-ops who work at Cummins.
Co-op Program
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
Current Co-op stories
Elizabeth Spratt
My Cummins co-op actually started as a summer internship. I was really
enjoying my experience since I was getting lots of chances to perform
engineering duties. I was planning to do a co-op in the fall with a different
company, but I asked my manager if I could extend my internship to a
co-op. He was really happy to have me stay because his team was shortstaffed and really needed the help.
Is there anything else about your co-op experience that you’d
like to share?
Tieg Laskowske
Having the opportunity to stay for a full six and a half months was a really
valuable experience. After the majority of the interns left to return to school,
I got to see how the company is a little different the rest of the year. For
example, towards the end of the year I got to see how spending had to
be cut once we hit our budget ceiling, and I got to experience end-of-year
meetings and Christmas parties. I also got to become much more familiar
with my job and with my co-workers and take on more responsibility. I
led a couple of biweekly meetings in our group and also led a couple of
design reviews. Outside of work, I took an introductory Chinese language
class through Cummins Chinese Affinity Group (CCAG), participated in
volleyball and soccer teams, and experienced the fall and winter weather in
Columbus.
It seems that the co-op program at Cummins is still in development. It is
understandably much smaller than the summer internship program, so we
didn’t have any events. Still though, the Cummins co-op program stands
out from other companies because it allows students to engage in truly
meaningful work that will enhance their education and career.
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(continued from page 3)
For me, I did not come to Cummins after graduation and took another
opportunity to work for a different company. Two years later, one of my
previous colleagues I had worked with who was now a manager of an
area and looking for experienced help to hire, called my parents looking
to see what had happened to me — I was currently not happy with
the company I was working for at that time, and Cummins gave me an
opportunity with a couple of offers to come back, and I took them up
on their offer and have been very happy with my decision ever since
and that was 24 years ago. So, my advice is, even if you don’t think your
paths will ever cross again with someone you are working with now,
because you know it’s just a co-op job, think again, and work to build
relationships that might help you or others in the future.
Current Co-op stories
Nick Wilson
What I love most about the Cummins co-op program is how seriously you
are taken, as if you are a full-time employee. Naturally, you go through
certain training since you are new, but the assignments that I worked
on in my experience were very new problems on current or even future
products. It’s challenging, but it’s a great feeling to know that what you’re
doing is actually helping the company solve problems.
Co-op Program
Working Right. | careers.cummins.com
Recruiters’ interviewing tips
nArrive on time and be prepared.
— Research a little bit about the
company, including possible positions
you might be interested in.
nConduct yourself in a professional
manner at all times.
— Gum chewing is not okay.
— Watch your body language —
slouching can indicate that you
don’t care about the interview.
nSilence is okay.
— If you need time to think, take the time.
It’s better to have a clear response
in your head then ramble aimlessly.
nAnswer the questions truthfully, concisely
and with experience based examples.
— Please do not ramble on about
a hypothetical example or to dodge
a question.
Just a few of our awards...
— Please keep answers and experiences
relevant to the question. Many
students who ramble end up not
answering the question, leaving
the interviewer confused.
nTry to come up with 1 – 2 questions for
the interviewer; it shows your interest
in the company and the interviewer.
— This can be as simple as “What do
you like about your job?” or “Explain
what your typical day looks like.”
nRelax and be yourself.
— If the candidate puts on a “fake face”
to get hired, they may come to find out
that the company / position is not the
correct fit for them after starting full
time. Be yourself up front and hopefully
the recruiter and the candidate
can determine the correct fit.
For more info on the
Co-op Program
Gregory Weber
Purdue Co-op Support
[email protected]
Madeleine Fogler
Purdue Recruiting Team Leader
[email protected]
William Hilliard
Purdue Co-op Leader
[email protected]
Connect with us
careers.cummins.com
Working Right.
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