ECE Grad Group: providing community and connection
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Student Group, better known as the ECE Grad group, was formally reestablished in 2023 as one of UMN’s graduate student communities. The group aims to create a sense of mutual support, connection, and belonging among ECE graduate students through a mix of social and professional support.
Community-building & professional development
“Overall, the group aims to maintain a balance between community-focused programming and events that support students’ longer-term academic and career growth”.
The ECE Grad group provides a multitude of informal opportunities for graduate students to find community outside of the lab or classroom; they routinely host events such as board game nights, bowling events, run club activities, and coffee hours. Alongside social events, ECE Grad collaborates across research areas, cohorts, student organizations, and companies to provide valuable student networking and resource sharing. Events like the ECE/CEMS Galentine’s Lunch and Linux workshops provide interdepartmental engagement and skill-building opportunities. Companies such as Cadence and Qualcomm have also partnered with ECE Grads to provide opportunities for professional connections, post-graduation options, and learning about industry pathways.
Student response to the group
“Many students were clearly looking for a stronger social outlet within the department, and the group helped fill that need by creating recurring opportunities to connect in a low-pressure and welcoming environment.”
Sustaining student engagement is a common challenge for student groups, and attendance can often rely on workload and timing. This is especially true for graduate students, who often have significantly different schedules, workloads, and social preferences. During their early events, the ECE Grad group initially saw a significant difference in the MS student and PhD student attendance rates. But through the continuous and intentional refinement of events and activities, ECE Grad now confidently provides a space that invites participation from students across varying programs and stages of graduate school. Their coffee hours, bowling nights, and Halloween night events have been popular, providing the break that graduate students need to rest and reset before returning to their demanding schedules. Providing recurring, relevant, accessible, and diverse events has allowed the group to become a reliable and active part of graduate life within the ECE department.
Future goals
Moving forward, ECE Grad plans to continue to strengthen its relevance to both MS and PhD students in the department through its events and collaborations. The group is working on maintaining a healthy mix of academic, professional, social, and wellness-focused programming, and expand participation. The group hopes that partnerships with other student organizations, departments, and industry partners will strengthen its ability to provide visibility and networking.
Overall, the ECE Grad group desires to continue its ability to provide student resources and a meaningful social community for the graduate student community. Yeena Ng, an ECE Grad officers, notes, “ECE Grad hopes to become a lasting and recognizable part of graduate student life in the department: a group that helps students feel welcomed, supported, connected, and represented throughout their time at the University of Minnesota”.
Current ECE Grad Group officers
More information on the group's activities and events available at the ECE Grads website.