Preparing students for careers
President Pinto part of panel discussion on higher ed answers to evolving workplace
By 2027, U.S. workers will experience 6.5 million job moves reflecting the transforming work world already under way for the past 20 years plus the additional displacement and disruption yet to be seen, according to Cisco CSR research. In response to this rapidly changing economic landscape, higher education faces mounting pressures to equip students with tools graduates will need to be “career-ready.” To explore the solutions to this evolving environment, Inside Higher Education is sponsoring a panel discussion on Tuesday, July 9 in Baltimore featuring three university presidents: University of Cincinnati’s Neville Pinto, University of Utah’s Ruth Watkins and University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Jay Perman.
The panel focuses on “More than a Degree - Preparing Students for Careers.” Based on UC’s respected reputation as the birthplace of cooperative education, President Pinto will discuss the wealth of opportunities that UC’s co-op and experience-based learning approaches offer students. Under UC’s Next Lives Here strategic direction, the university continues to reinvent cooperative education and career preparation to respond to the evolving needs of the global workforce.
Dubbed “Co-op 2.0,” its new paradigm strives to offer non-traditional approaches for paid co-ops and internships and envisions virtual job assignments that liberate co-op experiences from physical locations. It also is striving to expand co-ops and internships to fields and to students that have not traditionally participated in hands-on paid experiences. UC also is launching the Bearcat Promise with its incoming first-year class, with a goal of all students graduating with both a degree and a career plan.
Expanding the discussion, from Aug. 5-7, UC will host the WACE World Conference as a part of its bicentennial celebration. The conference brings hundreds of educational leaders from around the globe to focus on work-integrated learning in higher education.
Featured image at top: Graduates at UC Commencement wear decorated caps. Photo/UC Creative Services
Related Stories
UC student finds her stride at Pig Works co-op
November 7, 2025
Pig Works race director Jeanette Kiely praises UC co-op students like Dylan Eggleton for their professionalism, flexibility and readiness to take hands-on roles in major Cincinnati race events such as the Flying Pig Marathon. Kiely says UC students are well prepared and eager to learn.
Playing a winning hand
November 4, 2025
UC mechanical engineering student Brooke Boeding parlayed her co-op at an Ohio engineering and consulting company into a full-time job. Her co-op adviser not only helped her land her first co-op job but also provided guidance to launch her career.
From political science to insurance underwriting
October 22, 2025
A career in insurance wasn’t in the cards for Max Roberts when he started his political science degree at UC, but that was where he landed. “I originally thought I’d pursue law or public policy,” said Roberts. “Political science gave me a strong foundation in critical analysis and communication, skills that turned out to be surprisingly relevant in the insurance world.”