Connecting students to career-launching opportunities

UTEP Engage is a new University initiative to better connect our students to more opportunities in industry, business, nonprofits and government, with a focus on preparing them for lifelong success. It will also better connect employers and non-profits in the region to talented students and graduates so that we serve the community better.

With UTEP Engage, our goal is for our students to have access to the best career-launching opportunities in the nation. The new plan will combine functions currently held by the UTEP Career Center and the Center for Community Engagement into one streamlined, research-backed effort.

The new office will open and start work on July 1. We will have a 90-day transition to the new structure.

While UTEP is already good at helping students start their careers and connecting employers to talent, we think we can be even better.

All of the positions are posted on the UTEP Human Resources hiring page.  We will be recruiting, interviewing and hiring over the next 90 days.

This effort will be institution wide, involving a new team of engagement officers, a redoubled approach to continuous employer engagement, new partner relationship management software, dedicated staff for career advising and community-engaged learning, and a new office to take point. For more details, see the announcement.

Yes, students will have more access to career advising, resources and programming. The new structure commits three employees, assigned in the advising center, to get more career advice events and help for students on campus. More than ever, they will be connected to opportunities through expanded employer engagement — increasing their access to internships, job opportunities and real-world experiences — as well as lots of information sessions for every college and major.

No, the UTEP Edge student success framework remains a core part of the University’s approach. It won’t change. The Edge focuses on recognizing the strengths and assets our students bring to UTEP; providing engaging, high-impact experiences aligned with their academic goals; and preparing them for lifelong success. UTEP Engage is designed to build more intentional connections between students and employers, alumni and community partners. In this way, it complements and advances the goals of the UTEP Edge.

UTEP Engage has three goals:

1. Meet the needs of employers in our region;
2. Connect more students to meaningful internships and volunteer opportunities while they are undergraduates;
3. And help students build their social capital so that they are connected to jobs in their industry of interest that align with their passions.

Yes, the Career Closet will continue to be available to students through Student Affairs, helping to ensure students have access to professional attire for interviews, career events and other professional opportunities.

Handshake will continue to be the University’s primary platform for connecting students with job and internship opportunities. Students and employers should continue to expect Handshake as the standard tool for recruiting and accessing UTEP talent. We want more jobs and internships, particularly in the region, to be posted and available to students and graduates. That will be one of the primary goals of UTEP Engage.

Yes, students will continue to have access to Hiration, including tools to build and tailor resumes, improve LinkedIn profiles, practice interviews and create customized cover letters.

Yes. Students shouldn’t see any change from their perspective on using this tool.  We do expect more volunteer opportunities to be posted and available to students as we start up UTEP Engage and connect with more community and non-profit organizations more systematically.

UTEP will shift from relying primarily on two large career fairs each year to a model of continuous engagement with employers, allowing organizations to connect with UTEP talent throughout the year and be on campus when it works best for them. We don’t have enough room on campus for a single-day career fair to engage all the companies who want to recruit here, and we shouldn’t turn employers away. We want more companies on campus and more jobs and internships for students than ever before.

A new and improved version of Project MOVE will continue. Students are looking for volunteer opportunities throughout the year, and UTEP Engage will also increase the frequency of volunteer opportunities available to students, and make it easier for community organizations and non-profits to solicit student volunteers.

Faculty will continue to play a key role in connecting students to experiential learning opportunities. A position will be created under this new structure as part of InSPIRE that will provide focused support to faculty to facilitate engaged learning in the curriculum. Every college will have a liaison to an Industry and Community Partnerships Council for UTEP Engage.

Yes, we’ll build upon UTEP’s existing foundation of community-engaged learning, helping students connect their academic experience to real-world challenges while serving our region. A position will report through InSPIRE in Academic Affairs to continue to help faculty to incorporate engaged learning in their courses.

The University recently created a new position and hired a new Assistant Vice President for Regional Innovation and Partnerships to focus on building community-engaged research and identifying external funding sources for that research. This expanded support will continue through the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

Employers will have more consistent and coordinated engagement with the University, and more help to establish internships and hire graduates. We will stand up a team of Engagement Officers, each managing a portfolio of employers in business, government and community organizations. Engagement Officers will help employers establish and recruit interns and graduates from UTEP and get employers visiting our campus.

Under development over the past year as part of UTEP’s Quality Enhancement Plan for re-accreditation, UTEP Engage will formally start July 1, 2026, and in the meantime, we will transition positions, hire people, and install needed software to stand up the initiative.

There are currently 20 positions spread across the University doing some of this work and there will be 20 positions in the new structure. This is a reorganization to elevate and improve engagement. With the exception of the new engagement software system to manage the increased work, it is budget neutral. The University Budget Committee allocated money for the software system, a version of Salesforce that is adapted for this kind of work.