On the fast track: Tesla’s drive to recruit UBC Engineering students for tomorrow's challenges

Tesla's visit to the engineering design teams on November 1, 2023
On November 1, Tesla came to UBC Vancouver for its first major recruitment drive on campus since the pandemic. Their visit included meeting with five automotive engineering design teams.

Tesla returned to UBC Vancouver for its first major recruitment drive on campus since the pandemic, to meet with and attract UBC Engineering talent.  

On November 1, Tesla held three information sessions for UBC Engineering students across a variety of disciplines (design engineering, mechatronics, electrical and computer engineering), delivered a keynote on climate change, and met with five automotive engineering design teams (UBC Baja, UBC Supermileage, UBC Solar, UBC Formula and UBC Formula Electric).   

“At Tesla we really value students’ fresh perspective and willingness to challenge the status quo,” said Satyan Chandra, semi-truck engineering lead, who delivered the keynote tech talk to UBC students. “They come to the table un-adulterated and aren’t limited by unnecessary constraints or roadblocks. That’s incredibly powerful in thinking far outside the box.”  

Image
Satyan Chandra, semi-truck engineering lead, delivering his keynote speech to UBC students. (Credit: UBC Applied Science)
Satyan Chandra, semi-truck engineering lead, delivering his keynote speech to UBC students. (Credit: UBC Applied Science)

Students are crucial to Tesla's mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, and are given significant responsibilities, often working on large-scale, high-impact projects to address real-world problems across Tesla's operations.  

Tesla has hired more than 115 students from the Faculty of Applied Science Co-op program. UBC Engineering creates a pathway to success by providing students with robust problem-solving skills, deep understanding of their engineering disciplines and hands-on experience through design teams and co-op placements.   

Chandra emphasized that while the climate and energy challenges are complex, students and young engineers have a pivotal role to play in addressing these, particularly around the issue of consumption. Students can put their critical and analytical thinking skills to work to develop innovative solutions to reduce consumption per capita and, in turn, combat climate change effectively.  

Tesla currently offers year-round internships in a variety of positions, from assisting with the construction management of new Gigafactories to roles in firmware, powertrain, manufacturing, controls software and robotics.

Tesla’s visit and continued partnership with UBC is testament to the exceptional qualities and skills that UBC Engineering students bring to the table in addressing the problems we face today.  

Interested in learning about future campus visits from Tesla and other industry employers? Want to gain transferable skills through engineering design teams, co-op opportunities, mentorship and career peer coaching? 

Use the Faculty of Applied Science experience explorer to discover an opportunity that best fits your unique goals and helps you gain the real-world experience required to get started in a professional environment.

UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. E-commerce Cart A shopping cart. Time A clock. Chats Two speech clouds. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Social Media The globe is the default icon for a social media platform. TikTok The logo for the TikTok social media platform. Calendar Location Home A house in silhouette. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Location Pin A map location pin. Mail An envelope. Telephone An antique telephone. Play A media play button. Search A magnifying glass. Arrow indicating share action A directional arrow. Speech Bubble A speech bubble. Star An outline of a star. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. User A silhouette of a person. Vimeo The logo for the Vimeo video sharing service. Youtube The logo for the YouTube video sharing service. Future of work A logo for the Future of Work category. Inclusive leadership A logo for the Inclusive leadership category. Planetary health A logo for the Planetary health category. Solutions for people A logo for the Solutions for people category. Thriving cities A logo for the Thriving cities category. University for future A logo for the University for future category.