Real-World Experience Before Graduation

At Penn State Behrend, learning does not stop at the classroom door. Through the Open Lab, every student will complete at least one documented experience that applies classroom learning to real-world projects, partnerships, research questions, or community needs. Experiences may include internships, co-ops, significant undergraduate research, industry-sponsored projects, community-based collaborations, or other opportunities involving meaningful engagement with an external partner or community. The result is a résumé, not just a degree.

What Students Gain

  • A clearer understanding of how knowledge in their field is applied outside the classroom.
  • Experience working with faculty members, employers, organizations, or community partners.
  • Real-time feedback from industry experts and mentors.
  • Career-ready skills, professional connections, and concrete examples that strengthen a résumé, portfolio, interview, or graduate-school application.
  • A chance to contribute to a product, service, research question, process improvement, or community need with real impact.

How Students Can Participate

Open Lab experiences can take different forms depending on a student’s program, interests, and available opportunities. Possibilities may include:

  • internships and co-op experiences;
  • significant undergraduate research with external relevance or engagement;
  • industry-sponsored, faculty-led, or community-based projects;
  • capstone or program-based work that includes meaningful engagement beyond the classroom;
  • Innovation Commons projects, prototyping, or entrepreneurial work;
  • other approved applied-learning opportunities connected to external partners or real-world needs.

Examples of Open Lab Learning

Developing Products and Prototypes

In the James R. Meehl Innovation Commons, students work with faculty members and external partners to develop and test new ideas through product design and rapid prototyping.

Solving Community Challenges

The Open Lab can also connect student expertise with community needs. Past projects have included student work that supported the redesign of the City of Erie’s website, creating a more comprehensive digital resource for municipal departments and services.

Creating Immersive Experiences

Faculty and students in Behrend’s Virtual/Augmented Reality Lab have collaborated with the National Park Service and the Kamin Science Center in Pittsburgh to create immersive museum experiences, demonstrating how applied technology and local history can come together in public-facing projects.

See additional Open Lab examples

Start Your Open Lab Journey

Students can begin by talking with faculty members, academic advisers, career counselors, research mentors, and program staff about opportunities connected to their interests and field of study.