Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) has welcomed students from the theme park Engineering Group (TPEG) at Ohio State University, opening up its headquarters in Cincinnati for an education on how to break into the industry.

Students from TPEG – a collegiate engineering organisation focused on innovative theme park ideas and educational applications – started the day by being given an interactive tour of the design firm’s offices, meeting with each designer or project manager to see what they were working on. With JRA doing a lot of work in the Middle East and China, the students learned much about the design challenges inherent with working in different cultures.

Following the tour, students engaged in a roundtable discussion with digital engagement and media relations director Clara Rice, designer Rachel Daheim, senior project director Matthew Wheeler, COO Dan Schultz and VP of marketing and business development, Shawn McCoy.

Discussing the TEA’s NextGen programme and covering the history of JRA, the roundtable then engaged the students in a Q&A session, discussing experiences working with the company and how to become an industry professional.

In addition to the training day, JRA also runs a co-op scheme with the University of Cinncinati’s School of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Employing one or two graphics students and one industrial design student each semester, the co-ops are given real work on real projects on their first day. In the summer months, JRA also brings in co-ops from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) who also do real work from day one.

“All of our co-ops receive a complimentary one-year NextGen membership to the TEA,” said Clara Rice, speaking to Attractions Management. “Whether they decide to renew is up to them, but we feel strongly that this is a good foray into the industry and sets them up to make the professional connections that can help them secure employment post-graduation.”