Incentive grant offered for out-of-state Purdue Engineering graduates starting their careers in the State of Indiana
Indiana is combating brain drain by enticing out-of-state students to accept post-graduation employment in the state.
The Indiana Engineering Grant for Out-of-State Graduates, administered by Independent Colleges of Indiana and Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), is offering $7,000 to graduates who enroll in the program and complete six months of full-time employment in an engineering-related field in Indiana. Purdue Engineering — expected to graduate 1,200 out-of-state students during Spring 2023 and Summer 2023 commencement exercises — has 45 allotted spots in the program.
The impetus behind the grants is Indiana’s current unprecedented engineering shortage. More than half of the students studying engineering in Indiana’s colleges have come from out of state, according to the IEDC website, showing an urgent need to increase the number of graduates from Indiana engineering programs who remain in the state.
When Jayla Ellis, a chemical engineering senior from Pennsylvania, heard about the program, she already had accepted a position with Eli Lilly’s Indianapolis Global Facilities Delivery. She is now enrolled in the grant program. Her duties, which begin Aug. 7, will entail helping design new manufacturing facilities and organizing technical teams and construction to erect and validate them. She also received job offers in Tennessee and North Carolina but ultimately chose Eli Lilly because of its career advancement possibilities.
“I do see myself staying in Indiana past the required work commitment,” Ellis said. “My company offers many interesting and challenging opportunities at the Indianapolis headquarters, and I want to stick around to take advantage of them.”
For Ellis, the Boilermaker family has felt like home since Day 1.
“I chose Purdue because the faculty and track and field coaches celebrated me being an engineering student-athlete. While being recruited in high school, I did not find many other high-quality programs that did this,” said Ellis, an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Further, she is grateful for the exposure Purdue has provided.
“I landed two internships through the Purdue career fair and found doors opened in agriculture, petrochemical, food and beverage, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals because of the weight of the Purdue brand,” said Ellis, whose campus involvement also includes Christian ministry and professional organizations. “I did not have to compromise a meaningful, well-rounded college experience while attending here. I have met many amazing people along the way and will forever cherish the connections I have made in Indiana.”
Students still have time to complete the grant program’s enrollment application, which is due May 1.
Eligibility requirements include graduation from a four-year bachelor’s degree program in an engineering-related field, permanent address at time of graduation outside the state of Indiana and that the graduate has secured and accepted employment in an engineering-related field within the state of Indiana.