Mentors have a more advisory relationship that ideally will continue after the student returns to school. During their summer at Lucent, interns are introduced to many of the prominent and highly-placed technical people in the company. At the end of the summer, students are asked to evaluate their experiences. Focus groups of students discuss their projects. Happy smiles at a reception for participants in Lucent s Cooperative Research Fellowship Program and Graduate Research Program for Women.
Graduate programs focus on minorities and women.
The Cooperative Research Fellowship Program, for example, provides money for books and expenses along with an internship. The programs are long established, with mentoring often provided by volunteers who were part of the program in past years. Some program participants become researchers or technical staffers at the company, but many eventually go on to university positions. That's fine with Lucent, since the company feels that a more diverse faculty will boost graduation rates and thereby broaden the pool of potential employees among women and minorities. From sophomores to PhD candidates, Lucent interns return to campus to serve as ambassadors for the company.