Jacobs Talent Initiative
Tech San Diego has partnered with San Diego’s universities to improve the local talent pipeline, including talent access to internships, research and collaborations, while building tools to help local companies find qualified workers.
“Talent is the number one barrier to growth for the region’s small and mid-size companies, which are at a disadvantage when it comes to sourcing university talent. For far too long, the best and brightest local university graduates have led an exodus from San Diego every spring to other tech clusters, including Silicon Valley, Seattle, New York and Austin. We need to engage these students with the local tech community; our regional tech cluster is among the most vibrant in the world, so there are plenty of opportunities here for graduates.”
– Kevin Carroll, Tech San Diego’s Executive Director.
Irwin and Joan Jacobs are active supporters of the San Diego tech and engineering community and have graciously donated to a three year grant that will allow Tech San Diego’s newly renamed Jacobs Talent Initiative to assist local small-to-mid-sized tech companies to recruit, attract, and retain world-class talent. The goal of this partnership between Tech San Diego and San Diego’s local universities is to increase the number of students who select the region as their career destination. The Jacobs Talent Initiative is primarily funded by a grant from Irwin and Joan Jacobs.
Initiatives Include
UCSD Faculty Relationships
Tech San Diego will continue to develop an on-campus presence, with possible engagement in research projects. Tech San Diego members will also provide curriculum guidance for technology related disciplines.
Tech San Diego Campus Events
Tech San Diego has partnered with UC San Diego on a series of on-campus events, which will include a mix of compelling and career helpful activities that highlight the regional tech economy. Our goal is to engage students directly in a multitude of activities and to increase awareness of the regional tech community. Tech San Diego has also implemented a new student event initiative to allow UC San Diego students to attend select Tech San Diego events.
UC San Diego Student Groups
Tech San Diego partner with UCSD’s Student Data Science Club, DS3, Eta Kappa Nu, the engineering honor society, Women in Computing, and the Computer Science & Engineering student group to help students understand regional technology career opportunities.
Data Science Collaboration
Tech San Diego works closely with the UCSD Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI) and the UCSD Rady School of Management. Dr. Rajesh Gupta, Director HDSI and Robert S. Sullivan, Dean serve on the Tech San Diego board of directors.
If you are interested in participating in the Jacobs Talent Initiative and using our services to help recruit talent, please fill out this survey:
For more information on the value that interns have brought to San Diego companies, see the below example from Certona.
If you are interested in creating an internship program, download the Resources Document below.
For more information on the Jacobs Talent Initiative, contact our Jacobs Talent Director Emma Hareas, emma.hareas@techsd.org