A Scholars Program for Industry-Oriented Research in Engineering (ASPIRE) Overview
The A.
James Clark School of
Engineering of the
University
of Maryland strives to
prepare its students for outstanding careers
in
engineering. Toward that goal, the Maryland
Technology
Enterprise Institute (MTECH) has created the ASPIRE program, which
seeks
to broaden the educational experience of
undergraduate engineering
students
through direct
involvement in real-world engineering
projects. ASPIRE
offers
students a unique opportunity to venture
beyond
the classroom through
collaboration with engineering faculty
and staff on mutually interesting
projects with industry relevance.
In addition to its intrinsic educational
value, ASPIRE gives
students a competitive edge when applying for jobs or
graduate
study.
ASPIRE introduces undergraduates to the
discipline and rewards of industrially-oriented
engineering projects.
Students perfrom research
during the Fall
and/or Spring semesters under
the guidance of an engineering faculty or staff
mentor.
ASPIRE awardees
receive a scholarship of $1000 for each semester project. For
Summer projects, students receive a scholarship of
$3,000 for the summer. All
funds are credited
to
the awardee's university student account. All continuing projects must
submit
a new application for each semester or summer.
Awardees are required to
produce and submit a project report, approved by the mentor, at the end of
each semester or
summer project. In addition, ASPIRE scholars are
required to present a poster presentation on
their project
at the campus Undergraduate Research Day event held each April, unless they have
graduated prior to that time.
The ASPIRE Award
is
processed through the campus financial
aid office. Please be
advised that for students receiving needs-based financial aid, the
ASPIRE award may
impact that aid. Please contact the Office of Student Financial
Aid for
further information.
Applying
To find a project, students
may
approach engineering faculty whose
research is of interest to the
student. Faculty research interests
can
be found through the
engineering departmental
web
sites. The faculty member will determine whether any of his/her research
projects
would offer an appropriate role for the student. Once the faculty mentor
and the student have agreed on a project, the
application process can begin.
To apply,
students and mentors must complete the two ASPIRE application forms, available below.
The application includes the ASPIRE student application form, a resume
(including
honors, awards, publications, etc.), and an ASPIRE Project Description form
(to be completed by the faculty or staff mentor). For best consideration for
Summer 2008,
the application is due at MTECH by 4:00 PM on April 16, 2008. Summer awards
will be
announced
on April 28. Students
may contact any Clark School of Engineering faculty or
staff
directly to
arrange a
project.
Forms
ASPIRE
Student Application Form
ASPIRE
Faculty/Staff Project Description Form
Eligibility Undergraduate students in the A. James Clark School of Engineering
who have completed at least 14 credit hours and attained a minimum
GPA of 3.0 are eligible to apply for ASPIRE scholarships. In semesters where the ASPIRE budget is sufficient to
fund all applications received by the due date, ASPIRE may accept a lower GPA. Mentors
must be engineering faculty or staff. Students may submit only
one application per semester or summer.
Matching
Funds Faculty/staff mentors are required to provide matching funds for
ASPIRE projects. These funds must be transferred to MTECH and are
used to increase the number of project awards. The minimum required
match is $250 for Spring or Fall, $750 for Summer. Matching
funds beyond the minimum are a factor in the application evaluation
process.
Evaluation
Criteria
Criteria for evaluating applications for ASPIRE internships include
the following: (1) the project's educational value to the student,
(2) the student's qualifications, (3) the results of the previous
ASPIRE projects (if applicable), (4) the project's potential industry
impact and (5) the amount of matching funds offered.
Contact
Information For further information, please call Joseph Naft at (301) 405-3886.
Submit applications and forms to:
Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute
Potomac Building (092), Room 2120
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland 20742 - 3415
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