User experience firm turns to UC student co-ops in search of talent

Finding such workers isn’t always easy — unless your firm taps into the artistic brilliance concentrated at the University of Cincinnati.

Step into UC’s co-op program, where the 1819 Innovation Hub serves as a pipeline connecting students with full-time employment opportunities during their college careers. Openfield actively recruits new talent through co-op engagements, providing Bearcats with valuable on-the-job training long before most of their university peers graduate.

It’s been more than a century since UC invented co-op, and the school remains one of the system’s preeminent leaders. After all, in 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC as having the country’s second-best co-op and internship program among public universities.

Michelle Clare, dean of UC’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies, said co-ops are a “win-win for businesses and the university.”

“Companies have a chance to expand their talent pool, gain access to new workers year-round and develop a talent pipeline from UC colleges … who are vested in steering students into satisfying careers,” she said.

Creative innovation, after all, is key to Openfield’s user-experience success, and UC talent has consistently impressed. All three of the company’s co-founders are DAAP graduates, and nearly half of Openfield’s full-time employees are Bearcats. That’s mainly due to UC’s robust co-op program supplying Openfield with artistic and innovative students.

“The work ethic of UC co-op students is phenomenal,” Minton said. “They have brought a professional approach to the work and to integrating into our team while at the same time injecting our work culture with fresh enthusiasm, interests and perspectives.”

It’s no secret that getting a lucrative first job out of college takes effort, but Openfield and other co-op partners have lightened the load for Bearcats. By working full time at an innovative company as an undergraduate, students can confidently bring expertise into their first postcollege role.

Due to the design genius and creative expertise Openfield has found at DAAP, the firm is ready to expand its co-op program. UC’s unique system offers exceptional outcomes for both students and employers, explaining why co-ops are flourishing over 100 years after the first Bearcat joined one.

Featured image at top: Collage of Openfield workers. Photo/Openfield