Building Careers & The NH Workforce Sustainable Product Design & Innovation Internships

A destination major for students, SPDI is the only program in New England that combines industrial design, project management, and manufacturing engineering technologies with the lens of sustainability and sound business practices.

The SPDI program, which offers both a major and a minor, embodies the interdisciplinary lens that sets so many of Keene State’s programs apart—and sets students up to be leaders far into their careers and lives.

SPDI students graduate with hands-on, project-based experience that prepares them for careers in a fastmoving environment. The SPDI program is therefore a key driver of workforce development in the Monadnock region, which boasts a highly diverse and sophisticated manufacturing sector that plays on a global scale.

A critical component of the program is its internship program for majors, which gives students real-world job experience at an area company. And, thanks to donors like Engelberth Construction, SPDI internships are accessible to all.

For many Keene State students, an internship can be out of reach from a financial standpoint, whether it is the cost of taking time away from another paying job, or finding transportation funds or purchasing workplace appropriate attire.

But donors like Engelberth Construction are removing this barrier, for the good of the student and the region. Said Engelberth CEO Pierre LeBlanc ’78, “Keene State was my first foray away from home and it was a good experience for me. It’s nice to give back and I hope this funding allows students to have a similar experience as me, and helps them to have one less thing to worry about.”

Engelberth’s investment also took advantage of a generous $500,000 match created through a gift from the Krantz family in honor of KSC professor Dr. Delmar “Del” Ogg. Asked what he values about Keene State, Pierre said “It’s quite a valued resource for New Hampshire and the region. Here at Engelberth we have several Keene graduates employed, including our safety director. I’m hoping that future students have it as good as I did. That’s why I have supported Keene State over the years.”

It is gifts like Engelberth’s that make the program even more attractive to students, and makes their experience while in it all the more powerful.

SPDI program students go through the program seeking to answer one critical question: “How can we best live without degrading our life-support system and create conditions that nurture the flourishing of other beings and of future generations?”

Thus, SPDI graduates have, and will continue to have, a forward-thinking positive impact on the world around all of us for years to come.