MIT Lincoln Laboratory

MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, began participating in the Northeastern co-op program over 30 years ago. Currently more than two dozen Northeastern students work at the Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center which applies advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as rapid system prototyping and demonstration.

Co-op students participate in projects for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as government missile defense systems. Students from the College of Computer and Information Sciences and the College of Engineering gain professional experience working on hardware, computer systems administration, and engineering projects involving the development of complex prototypes. At the same time, they gain the potential for an offer to work at the Laboratory after graduation.

Eric Evans, the director of the Laboratory says, “We see it as a six-month to 18-month interview, in a sense, and we get a good feel for how they think, how they work on teams, and then we try to hire the best.”

The success of Northeastern’s co-op program at Lincoln Laboratory has led to further collaborations which the Laboratory has highlighted on its website at http://www.ll.mit.edu/news/NEUcollaboration.html.