During the 2003 SAM (Summer Annual Meeting), the ECC brainstormed best practices for encouraging student/senior section interaction. They are located in the minutes of that meeting and I have reposted them here (www.asme.org/cma/ecc/min...nutes.html):

- Frequent personal interaction between sections (joint meetings/programs, student involvement in board meetings)
- Active professors in the schools
- Officers from student/senior sections attend the other's exec meetings
- Industry involvement (Ingersoll Rand, Lockmart, etc.)
- Have an AU (Automatic Upgrade) event at least once each year
- Joint senior/student section newsletter
- Have YE's involved (Alumni, Industry Advisor)
- Discuss ASME benefits regularly throughout the year, every year
- Hold Faculty-Student luncheons
- Hold Senior Section meeting on campus
- Ensure College of Engineering admin. is keyed in to the student sections needs/wants/desires
- Broadcast (share) success stories from student members
- Provide contact info for the student's transitional process to make sure the student makes a connection after graduation
- Student Design Competitions
- Invite industry involvement in design competition teams
- Enforce mingling of students and everyone else at functions (Use seating charts)
- Use Engineering Week as a time to stress industry-student functions
- Community Service and K-12 Interaction
- Determined best time of year for joint activities (mailings, updates, meetings, tours, recruitment activity)
- Add ASME membership in College of Engineering promotional materials
- Help with job search skills and opportunities

Has anyone used any from the above list successfully in their organization?

Loretta

When I was a member of the Palm Beach Section, Florida, we had a wonderful relationship with our student section. I believe it had a great deal to do with the student section leadership. Our professional section had always wanted more interaction with the student section, but it never materialized until the student section leadership changed. The new leadership emphasized more communication with the executive committee.

We had a great deal of success with a junior high/high school design competition. Our student section helped throughout the entire event.

The chair of the student section also attended all of our executive committee meetings. It definitely helped to get the word out to the students. Previously, we would send them a newsletter. We would receive little to no response.

That's pretty much all I have from previous experience.