CNH Industrial’s brand Raven continues to support students at US Colleges


09/07/2022

Raven continues sponsor students pursuing STEM subjects in universities.


In a statement CNH Industrial’s Raven brand said, it actively supports universities since believes in helping students reach their full potential, especially for those students enrolled in science-related fields of technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

Every year, Raven sponsors high-end design projects at universities including South Dakota School of Mines and South Dakota State University (SDSU) on projects that have the potential to make a big Impact on both - students and the agribusiness.

"Raven sponsored senior design projects are based on what is happening in our organization," said Shane Swedlund, Engineering Manager. "The projects are designed to improve our systems and encourage collaboration between Raven team members and university students."

Once a project is underway, full-time Raven team members serve as technical advisors to students involved in the project and at the end of the academic year, the students present their project in competitions as well as to their teachers.

Both SDSU and the School of Mines host an exhibition for student submissions. SDSU also hosts a competition for engineering students and awards prizes. Students are also encouraged to present their projects to Raven to provide more information and involve more team members in the future of the project.

Senior design projects demonstrate Raven's commitment to growth and creation Connections between university and economy. They also give Raven team members the opportunity to work with students who could later become interns or full-time team members.

Field Mitchell, a software engineer, studied computer science at the School of Mines, before joining Raven, and worked on a collision avoidance system for several autonomous agricultural vehicles as part of his senior design project.

He was drawn to the project because it sounded challenging and there were a variety of avenues that could lead his team to an optimal solution.

"This project helped me become a better engineer and a better team member. The best thing a new engineer can get is a guided experience, that's exactly what I got and I was able to learn a lot from the guidance of my teammates and our sponsors. I'm a problem solver and I want to solve more than challenges than ever in the school of the mines”, said Field.

Raven Software Engineer Madeleine Price said she knew Raven was focused on solving big, high-impact challenges , so she was excited to work on problems with real application. Her interactions with Raven prior to the project were second to none, so he wants to continue his commitment to the company.

Both, Field and Madeleine said they felt committed to Raven and felt valued by their technical advisors while working on the project.

“I learned better collaboration, specifically through leveraging multiple people's strengths and working with stakeholders to fully understand the problem in order to find a solution. These are critical skills for engineers to learn,” said Madeleine.

She went on to add, “Everyone that we worked with directly or reached out to for help and guidance was responsive, supportive, and had great ideas for improving our solution. There was a huge wealth of knowledge that we got to draw on as a team, which meant that not only did we learn a lot about algorithm development ourselves, but we got to apply it to create a better deliverable at the end of the class.”

Raven chooses to sponsor senior design projects each year because they are an investment in the future for the students, for STEM fields, and for the agriculture industry. 

The company is also committed to helping students work on projects with real-world applications that teach them life skills. The hours that students and Raven technical advisors spend working on projects allow them to push the company’s industry-leading innovations forward and encourage personal development.

“I have learned to work better together, particularly through Leveraging multiple employees to recognize people's strengths and work with stakeholders to fully understand the problem and find a solution. These are critical skills that engineers must learn,” said Madeleine. “Everyone we have worked with directly or asked for help and guidance has been responsive, helpful and had great ideas for improving our Solution.”

“There was a lot of knowledge to draw on as a team, which meant we not only learned a lot about developing algorithms ourselves, but could apply it to end up with a better one to create delivery. of the class.”