CDME students cultivate relationships with Ohio-based small businesses through the SBRD program

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SBRD Student Partners

Over the past several months, The Ohio State University’s Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME) has had the opportunity to facilitate the U.S. Department of Defense Supply Base Resilience and Diversification (SBRD) Program. This initiative aims to provide Ohio-based small businesses and inventors with the funded technical support needed to prepare their products for the eyes of investors and military technology scouts. 

As the SBRD program continues to advance, CDME has created and leveraged a new resource that’s now available to all applicants, the SBRD Student Partnership Program. 

The SBRD Student Partnership Program is composed of Ohio State marketing and engineering students employed at CDME. These students collaborate with applicants to further support the growth and visibility of their technologies and businesses. 

The program gives students the chance to foster relationships with some of the top innovators in the state while supporting their progress and growth by sharing relevant funding programs and developing targeted technology descriptions, digital profiles, and product sketches.

“Through my experience with the SBRD Student Partnership Program, I have learned how to apply my skills in software and design to projects that could improve the world,” Conner Buel, a third-year industrial design student, said. 

Buel has been an integral part of the student-led team and works closely with SBRD partner companies and inventors to translate their concepts into product sketches. These sketches can be a useful and efficient way to better explain an emerging technology. 

“Because of this program, I’m following trends that are becoming more prevalent in defense and technology industries," Buel continued.

At CDME, student employees are seamlessly integrated into ongoing projects while receiving mentorship from full-time engineers and business professionals also employed by the center. Through this process, CDME strives to equip students with the practical knowledge and experience they need to become proficient and productive members of the workforce quickly.

The SBRD Student Partnership Program extends upon CDME’s workforce program and has provided students with the opportunity to develop invaluable real-world skills further. 

To see what members of the SBRD Student Partnership Program have been working on and learn more about the companies and inventors participating, please visit https://cdme.osu.edu/sbrd

 

by Grant Jones, CDME undergraduate marketing assistant

Categories: IndustryStudents