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CU Boulder students and faculty discussed innovation, collaboration and career opportunities听with thought leaders and executives from Colorado鈥檚 aerospace industry on campus Oct. 27 at the 4th听annual AeroSpace Ventures Day hosted by at the

The event brought together representatives from the state鈥檚 leading aerospace companies in order to learn about the latest cutting-edge research, talk about challenges and opportunities facing their organizations and explore ways in which the CU community can help advance the field.

Bobby Braun, incoming dean of CU Boulder鈥檚 , praised Colorado鈥檚 鈥渟trong and vibrant鈥� aerospace industry in his keynote address.

鈥淔rom small to medium to large-sized businesses, to the space-oriented focus at CU, to some of the work that鈥檚 going on at the national labs, CU and Colorado are a real aerospace economic and innovation engine,鈥� said Braun. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 nothing you can鈥檛 do when you partner industry and university folks. I鈥檝e seen that on the academic side and on the federal side.鈥�

Careers in aerospace

In addition to research presentations from CU Boulder faculty and discussions of university-industry partnerships, the event featured an aerospace career panel with representatives from Advanced Space, DigitalGlobe, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman 鈥� all companies with offices in Colorado. The panelists spoke about their own experiences in the industry, gave advice on job seeking, and answered questions from students.

The panelists unanimously emphasized the value of wide-ranging applicable skills, extracurricular activities and a willingness to learn and grow within a position, regardless of education level or academic major.

Anyone looking to start a career in aerospace needs 鈥渁 mixture of critical thinking and curiosity,鈥� said Christian Meyer, director of Off Planet Asset Management and Exploitation for DigitalGlobe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about being able to get to the root of something and then solving it.鈥�

Making personal connections

Afterward, in a departure from typical career fair structure, students attended a networking reception and had an opportunity to meet with in-state aerospace companies in a more personal setting.

鈥淲e wanted to highlight the huge workforce opportunity right here in Colorado and facilitate those connections for our students,鈥� said Abby Benson, executive director of AeroSpace Ventures.

Thanh Cong Bui and Audrey Randall, both juniors, came to the event in the hopes of getting career questions answered and making contacts that could eventually lead to aerospace internships.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great knowing that all these companies are right here in Colorado,鈥� said Randall, who has a computer science focus.

Shelby Bottoms, a second-year graduate student from Kansas with a focus in bioastronautics, hopes to work on spaceflight and the design of planetary habitats and transport vehicles one day. For her, AeroSpace Ventures Day represented a golden opportunity to chat with industry thought leaders one-on-one.

鈥淎ny chance you have to get advice like this, you take it,鈥� she said, adding that Colorado鈥檚 ever-growing reputation as an aerospace hub may end up being a big factor in her career decisions. 鈥淏efore, I assumed I鈥檇 eventually end up leaving the state after school. Now I鈥檓 probably more likely to stay.鈥�