Sponsorship

Industry Engagement Pathways

Whether you're looking to hire and invest in tomorrow's data-driven engineers, share your expertise, or help shape the program's research agenda, Nebula has a pathway that fits your goals.

Contact Tamika Hodnett (thodnett@umd.edu) for more information on how to engage with the Nebula Fellowship.

1) Sponsor Nebula Fellows

Sponsorship funds support Fellows’ stipends and provide sponsors first-look access to a curated pool of engineering undergraduates with verified research and data analytics experience. Sponsors are invited to:

Attend Nebula Fellowship kick-off and final presentation events
Post internship and co-op opportunities directly to Fellows
Receive fellow profiles and project summaries on request
Receive website recognition

2) Share Your Expertise

Bring an industry perspective to Nebula fellows at key moments in their research journey.

Speak at regularly scheduled Nebula professional development events
Share career paths and advice with Nebula Fellows
Highlight how your organization uses research and data skills
Flexible formats: in-person, virtual, or panel discussions

3) Judge Fellow Final Presentations

Join faculty at the end-of-semester final presentation event, where Nebula Fellows showcase their research and data analytics work.

Evaluate Fellows' projects and provide feedback
Get an early look at emerging research and talent
Build relationships with Fellows ahead of recruiting
Held each semester — Spring and Fall cohorts
Low time commitment, high visibility into the program

The Nebula Fellowship — Built for the Problems Industry Faces

Nebula isn't a job fair or a resume bank. It's a pipeline of students who have already done the hard work inside real labs, on real data, under real deadlines.

By the time they engage with your organization, they've navigated ambiguous research problems, managed expectations with lab supervisors, and delivered results under real constraints. That's the candidate who hits the ground running.

How the Nebula Pipeline Works

Competitive Selection: Nebula undergraduate researchers are chosen from a competitive applicant pool across Clark School disciplines.

Lab Integration & Mentored Research: Each undergraduate is paired with a graduate supervisor and embedded in an active research lab for a full semester of data-driven project work.

Data Analytics Training: Fellows gain hands-on skills in data pipeline construction, statistical analysis, visualization, and technical communication throughout the program.

Final Presentations & Industry Exposure: Each cohort culminates in a formal presentation event — an ideal touchpoint for industry partners to observe, engage, and recruit.

Workforce-Ready, Not Just Classroom Trained

Fellows are embedded in active research laboratories and trained in end-to-end data analytics workflows — cleaning, modeling, interpreting, and communicating results — skills that transfer directly into industry roles.

Cross-Disciplinary by Design

From bioengineering to civil systems to materials science, fellows develop fluency across engineering domains. Industries tackling complex, interdisciplinary challenges gain access to talent that can bridge technical silos.

Build a Strong Talent Pipeline

Engaging with Nebula fellows as early as their sophomore or junior year gives industry partners a multi-year window to identify, assess, and cultivate talent before graduation — before the competition.

Grounded in Real Research

Every Nebula Fellow works alongside graduate student mentors and faculty on funded research projects. They understand the rigor, ambiguity, and collaboration that define advanced technical work — before they enter the workforce.

A Direct Line to Clark School Research

Partnership with Nebula opens doors to faculty collaborators, lab resources, and emerging research — from AI-driven materials discovery to sustainable infrastructure systems — with a program office ready to facilitate connections.

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