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Updated: July 16, 2025 @ 12:02 pm
The Bobcat Company and UNC Charlotte’s William States Lee College of Engineering partnered to provide academic opportunities for engineering students through Bobcat’s student development program and a $200,000 scholarship fund.
Bobcat is a growing company that has been seeking future engineers to expand its workforce further. For multiple reasons, Charlotte offers a strong foundation in engineering, computer science and business for potential talent to work at a company like Bobcat, according to Robert Keynton, the dean of the William States Lee College of Engineering. 
This laid the groundwork for Bobcat’s student development program and the donation. Through this program and scholarships, Bobcat intends to recruit students primarily from the engineering college, while also supporting students from the Belk College of Business and Computing, as well as those in Computing and Informatics, in their efforts to attract students from diverse disciplines.
The funding is to provide students with aid for tuition costs. According to the dean, $200,000 has been donated, and 20 scholarships will be distributed in amounts of $3,000 each.
This donation is available for engineering students as well as those in the College of Computing and Informatics and the Belk College of Business. 
These scholarships are accessible through the scholarship portal, which is readily available through an evaluation process.
As part of their efforts to recruit future engineers, Bobcat has provided several internships both on and off campus that will nurture and develop the talents of engineering students. Bobcat has established internships in the Bobcat Innovation Hub, located on campus, in the Partnership, Outreach, and Research to Accelerate Learning (PORTAL) building. Currently, around five to six students participate in these internships, which are available throughout the summer, fall and spring semesters.
“One in particular is that they started a student development facility here, which we call the Bobcat Innovation Hub, which is located in the portal building,” said Keynton. “Our students would go and do an internship with them during the summer, and if Bobcat likes the performance of that student and that student enjoys working with them, they can continue working with Bobcat while they are here in school.”
These internships can also be found off-campus at Bobcat’s largest global facility located in Statesville, N.C., as well as their facility in North Dakota. 
Students also have the opportunity to transfer over to the Bobcat Innovation Hub after interning at these other facilities. Inside, they can communicate globally with other engineers in many of Bobcat’s locations.
Through these internships, students can apply the skills and knowledge they have learned from courses, while also continuing to learn through hands-on experience.
Equipment found in the Bobcat Innovation Hub can also be found in other facilities, with one employee overseeing the interns. This allows students to assimilate into the reality of an engineer. 
“By them being able to go and work in the industry, it gives them real-world experience in learning how a practicing engineer operates in a work environment. Learning that skill early on is very, very valuable for the students so that when they transition down the road to permanent employment, it’s not going to be an unknown question,” said Keynton.
Apart from being able to explore majors at Charlotte, the partnership also enhances students’ ability to explore different majors or disciplines.
Students have the opportunity to explore their potential to learn beyond their comfort zone, acquiring a wide range of knowledge that is beneficial in the real world, beyond engineering. 
“A lot of the students do get in their training while here at UNC Charlotte,” said Keynton. “They do have exposure to the different types of disciplines, so that if they decide that they want to move into a different major than they originally thought, then they are going to be able to do that. But having work experience, such as working at Bobcat, expands their knowledge into other areas as well.”
As for why Bobcat has invested in these colleges, Keynton explained their multiple reasons for choosing them as a partner. Proximity, a university with a similar growth rate and a strong academic institution, contributed to Bobcat’s decision to partner with the three colleges. They are also focused on universities with growing research as well.
“Bobcat has had a lot of growth over the years, just as we have had a lot of growth, so there are a lot of similarities between the two,” said Keynton. “Our goal is to educate our students and to provide them opportunities when they graduate. One way that we’re able to do that [is] by having that partnership with Bobcat.”
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