Outreach and Education
University Relations
We are committed to developing the next generation of engineers through higher education. Our University Relations team engages with university and technical school partners around the world in many ways, including providing financial and equipment donations, serving on university advisory boards, preparing guest lectures, participating in university career fairs, sponsoring student projects, offering scholarship opportunities, and hiring interns.
Endowed Positions
For SEL to continue its rich tradition of innovation, we need highly educated engineers who understand the fundamentals of electric power systems. SEL and SEL founder Edmund O. Schweitzer, III, and his wife, Beatriz, have established multiple endowed positions at universities to encourage and support electrical engineering programs.
Brian Johnson, PhD, P.E.
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Chair in Power Engineering, University of Idaho College of Engineering
Steve Pekarek, PhD
Edmund O. Schweitzer III Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Scholarship Program
Quick links
College Internships
Join a talented team to help power society’s future. We offer year-round internships in manufacturing, business, computer science, electrical engineering, human resources, marketing, and more. Many of our internships are based at SEL headquarters in Pullman, Washington, but we also offer internships throughout the United States and around the world.
University Involvement
University Equipment Donations
At SEL, we believe in the importance of teaching engineering fundamentals. Much of that includes classroom study, but we also value hands-on learning. It’s valuable for students to find practical application for what they are learning in school. What better way is there for students to learn on-the-job skills than to learn how to set up, operate, and test the actual products they will encounter in the workplace? Through the SEL equipment donation program, electrical engineering students leave their university feeling confident in their ability to operate SEL products. We partner with universities around the world by providing a variety of our products—free of charge—to be incorporated into the learning environment. Are you interested in bringing SEL equipment to your power system lab?
More than 250 universities are using SEL equipment in their power systems labs, including the following:
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
- British Columbia Institute of Technology
- Kansas State University
- Wichita State University
- Texas A&M University
- Michigan Technological University
- Richmond Community College
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- University of São Paulo
- Montana Technological University
- Washington State University
- University of Idaho
Senior Design Projects, Competitions, and Curriculum
SEL hires some of the power industry’s most talented engineers specializing in a variety of fields, including protection, control, automation, computing, communications, and cybersecurity. We feel it’s important to share our expertise with students and help mentor them in their chosen field of study. We encourage our engineers to participate as mentors in senior design projects and as judges for university engineering competitions and programs, like the University of Idaho Engineering Design Expo and Washington State University’s CrimsonCode and Hands-On Relay School.
For over 30 years, SEL has created an extensive selection of power systems literature, including several important textbooks authored by senior engineers and executive leadership. Students worldwide refer to these textbooks for instruction in power systems fundamentals, line current differential protection, and wide area protection and control.
Advisory Board Involvement
The connection between universities and industry is critical to ensure that curriculums remain relevant and thorough enough to produce graduates ready to come to work. At SEL, we strive to assist our university partners through membership on advisory boards that help guide the direction of the different programs offered at the school. Our membership on these boards also allows us to gain insight into the new and innovative ideas that originate on campuses.
University-Hosted Conferences and Workshops
Several universities host a power system conference as part of their electrical engineering program. SEL is proud to participate in several across the country to educate students on our latest technologies, meet with other industry professionals, and recruit new graduates interested in joining our company.
SEL regularly participates in the following university conferences: