At the 2018 All Members Conference an interdisciplinary panel noted that mentoring and supporting scholars does not end after they obtain their degrees. Each year Lockheed Martin, a longtime supporter of ARCS Foundation, hires over 150 technical PhD and master’s graduates and it expects that to increase in the future. 

This practice helps meet one challenge specifically addressed by the panelists: the next steps of students who have completed advanced degrees in STEM fields after they have completed advanced degree work. Many scholars studying in the STEM fields see their options as only in academia or as a researcher, which some students may find stifling. Lockheed Martin has stepped in to fill that gap. Dr. Kunal Parikh, an ARCS Scholar Alum who now works at Johns Hopkins University in the Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design, touched on an important point.

“We are filling the [educational] pipeline but we need to figure out where researchers go and what they do after they become educated,” he said.  “[ARCS Foundation] is already doing this work, but there needs to be a greater emphasis on mentoring students to navigate what the next steps are for students and researchers.”

For the academic year starting August 1, 2018 and ending July 31, 2019, Lockheed Martin projects that it will hire almost 250 Ph.D. holders and almost 2,000 bachelor’s degree holders.

About Lockheed Martin and ARCS Foundation’s Relationship:

Lockheed Martin became involved with ARCS in the Washington region back in the 1990s, and we are very proud of our relationship with the Washington Chapter, and the universities and scholars that the organization supports. Over the years Lockheed Martin business areas around the country have been strong supporters of ARCS scholars and Chapters in Denver, Atlanta, San Diego and Pittsburgh as well.  The corporation has actively sponsored other National activities including a new National website for ARCS and the 2018 All Members Conference.