April 2025
Boise State’s Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering is paving the way forward with SPARK, aka, Strengthening Partnerships to Advance Real-world Knowledge. This initiative has brought together faculty, students, and regional industry leaders to reimagine engineering education through deep collaboration, shared challenges, and a bold commitment to workforce readiness.
The MBE Industry Summit – SPARK: Strengthening Partnerships to Advance Real-world Knowledge – was a fantastic success, bringing together 24 industry professionals from 20 companies. We had productive discussions on industry-academia collaboration, workforce development, and innovative partnerships that align with emerging industry needs. We look forward to continued engagement and building stronger connections for the future!
The SPARK workshop focused on four key areas: addressing workforce skill gaps, enhancing research collaboration, developing industry-driven training models, and building long-term partnerships. Industry professionals shared candid insights into the most pressing needs they see in new graduates, from communication and technical documentation to AI literacy, systems thinking, and user-centered design. Boise State faculty responded with energy and openness, committed to evolving the curriculum to reflect these real-world demands.
Participants also emphasized the value of embedding students in hands-on experiences: industry-aligned senior projects, long-term internships, and short-format technical bootcamps. There was a shared recognition that research must reflect pressing industry challenges, like robotics, clean energy, and rural communications, while remaining accessible and collaborative.
Behind every idea shared at SPARK is a commitment to mentorship, adaptability, and lifelong learning. Faculty and alumni recalled defining moments and student success stories that affirmed why they entered this field, to empower the next generation of engineers. As the Boise State MBE community continues to grow, SPARK has become more than a workshop. It’s a catalyst for real change, igniting the future of engineering education in Idaho and beyond.
