Siemens Automotive of Auburn Hills received the Wayne State University Cooperative Education Employer of the Year Award during a special luncheon recently held on campus.

Siemens serves more than 30 of the world's major vehicle manufacturers. The10 largest automakers account for 70 percent of the company's sales worldwide.

Diane Grimord, associate director of the cooperative education program at WSU, began working with Siemens four years ago and a few WSU co-op students were hired within the next year. Eric Mathews joined Siemens in 1997 and one of his goals was to start a traditional, formal co-op program, Grimord said.

"He didn't waste any time," she said. "In October, 1997, he came to campus to interview prospective co-ops and since January, 1998, Siemens has hired 24co-op students from WSU and nine graduate co-ops for full-time positions."

The company's co-op program is strong for several reasons, Grimord said:

It has the commitment of top management; Co-op contact Eric Mathews is always available to counsel students with concerns or answer any questions the university has; Mathews notifies the university in a timely manner about recruiting needs and visits campus to present interviewing workshops to prospective co-ops. He also sends managers to campus to interview prospective co-ops; WSU co-op program staff are invited to visit students on the job; and Mathews arranges for supervisors to complete co-op evaluations in a timely fashion and conducts exit interviews with students to get feedback about the quality of assignments.

Grimord said a major strong point of the company's program is the quality of the student work experience. At the beginning of the work session, students and supervisors work out a plan and agree on performance objectives.

"Siemens has demonstrated a solid commitment to integrating the academic pursuits and practical work experience of Wayne State co-ops," Grimord said.

Wayne State is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its co-op program this year.