When students are preparing to graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), they wonder what might be next. Where are they going to start their career?
The upstate private research university in Troy has a 200-year legacy of world-class engineering education and innovation. For graduates, the world is their oyster. But even with their education from the nation’s first technological research university, it can be hard to navigate the professional working world throughout their careers.
It’s one of the reasons why the university created RPI at Work — a division founded over 67 years ago to provide graduate and professional education to engineers, scientists, and business leaders.
That’s where Westchester County comes into play. Last April, Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins announced at the 2025 State of the County Address a new strategic partnership with RPI, expanding access to professional education, talent, and collaborative research opportunities across high-growth STEM sectors, including engineering, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, quantum technologies, life sciences, business, and innovation. It’s a continued investment in the county’s economic growth by developing a highly skilled, innovation-driven workforce.
When RPI’s Bonnie Blumer was appointed to her role as director for the RPI and Westchester partnership in January 2026, she first geared her efforts towards coordinating pathways for employers to engage RPI students through internships, co-ops, and applied, project-based experiences. Her role involves ensuring that Westchester employers are plugged into RPI’s career fairs, including one hosted in Westchester County last November: the RPI + Westchester County Career, Learning, & Industry Summit, which had 65 county employers and close to 250 participants in attendance.
On an ongoing basis, Blumer meets with county associations and business leaders to ensure they are aware of the RPI at Work professional development programs as well.
“When the opportunity presented itself from Westchester County looking to develop and provide STEM education to its residents and its employers with an ecosystem of its own, it made sense that the RPI at Work programs would be made available right out of the gate,” said Blumer. “We have some of the very best credit and non-credit professional development programs in the market.”
Partnership Results in Engineering Hires
That work has already proven successful. For example, Westchester-based employer Arcadis hired four people from RPI as a result of a networking event.
“My vision is to bring in the best qualified candidates in all aspects of engineering,” said Paul Daniele, senior vice president at Arcadis, who has seen those candidates coming out of RPI.
Arcadis is one of the world’s leading companies delivering data-driven sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. The company has more than 250 offices worldwide, one of them in White Plains. With ongoing excitement about the partnership between RPI and Westchester County, Daniele wanted to be one of the early employers to provide opportunities to these students who are looking to settle down in the county. He calls it the “unofficial triple alliance.”
“We hope to have a 100% conversion rate from interns to working for us full-time after graduation,” said Daniele. “The pedigree and emotional intelligence that these students have and the critical thinking skills, they’re the full package. Coming from a school like RPI, they can help Arcadis grow into the next generation.”
Daniele said it’s as much a benefit for him as it is for the students and the county. Arcadis is always looking to grow into the next generation, including being at the forefront of things like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. “It’s all about the next generation,” he said.
With two interns and two full-time employees from RPI so far, Daniele said Arcadis won’t stop there. RPI had another event with Arcadis in early 2026, where some of the Arcadis staff went to Troy to recruit additional prospective employees. They are also planning another event for this spring, where students will tour Arcadis and see the office environment.
When a company like Arcadis is attractive to a new graduate, they are willing to make the move to live and work in that area full-time. “The primary purpose is to attract graduates to work in White Plains, live in White Plains, spur the economy in White Plains,” said Daniele.
That might be RPI students who grew up in Westchester and are looking to go back, but it could also be RPI students who are just learning about the county and are excited to be in a booming location with proximity to New York City. Arcadis is just one of several companies that are a part of this project.
While Westchester-based companies continue to recruit and retain RPI students, RPI is also offering another benefit: the RPI at Work ProCourses for non-credit professional development, and for-credit graduate courses. Westchester identified the need for the development of an undergraduate completion program as well, which is a program for those who hold an associate’s degree and can move into the degree completion program.
“What’s neat about the program is participants earn their undergraduate degree with certificates along the way in things like business and management, problem solving and decision making, and data analytics and visualization, to name a few,” said Blumer.
All of this combined — opportunities for RPI, Westchester County, employers, and students — provides new pathways for everyone involved and will continue to for years to come.
“The alignment was intentional and forward-thinking,” said Blumer. “Bringing the institute’s strengths together with the vibrancy of Westchester County creates long-term value for employers, learners, and the region as a whole.”
Learn more about the partnership and course offerings at the website.
Related: The Westchester Catalyst Website Is an Asset for Small Business Owners
