Student Assistant Program

For more than 23 years, the roundtables have been providing assistance to CSCMP with the logistics of running our Annual Conference by sponsoring college students who attend the conference as part of our extended staff. With only 25 staff members available on-site to work the conference and over 3,600 attendees, the help the students provide is invaluable.

The students sponsored tend to be undergraduates who are studying in the field of logistics and supply chain management. During the conference, they are required to spend 50% of their time working with the executive office staff. CSCMP gives them the other 50% of their time to attend sessions of their choice, network with attendees, set up job opportunity appointments, and experience the conference as if a fully paid registrant.

The Selection Process

There are many different ways in which the roundtable can select a student. They range from complicated papers being presented to simply getting a recommendation from a professor. To assist you in understanding the selection process, listed below are several different ways roundtables have selected students in the past.

Ask interested students to submit a paper and have an interview. Paper should not exceed 5 pages, exclusive of appendices, exhibits and title page. Paper must be typed, double-spaced and proof read. Paper topic: Provide suggestions as to how a firm might manage their logistics system to provide customer satisfaction and, at the same time, lessen the negative impact of the logistics system on the environment. Interview topic: Explain why you would like to attend the CSCMP annual conference. Paper (50%), resume (25%) and interview (25%) is evaluated by 3 logistics executives of the roundtable.
Ask interested students to submit a paper with a copy of current resume. Paper is a case solution not to exceed 3 pages, exclusive of title page. Paper must be typed, double-spaced and proof read. Supply chain management executives, who are members of CSCMP, will evaluate case solutions.
Offer 5 awards for students majoring in supply chain management, logistics, physical distribution, transportation, or related fields. There are 2 $1000 awards for students attending four year colleges, universities, or graduate schools; two $500 honorariums for students attending two year colleges; and one all expense paid trip to the Council's annual convention. To be eligible, students must be nominated and recommended by a faculty member or school administrator and submit a research paper on logistics issue. A committee of roundtable members will judge the papers.
Have each university select a student and provide the roundtable with a resume and an essay on why their student should be the one selected. Based on the essays, the roundtable would make the final decision.
Contact schools and have students interested in the field of logistics and supply chain management submit a paper as to why they want to attend and why they should be the one chosen. Students are chosen based on content of paper.
Professors on the board and other professors in the area host a "competitive week". Students write a professional paper with logistics or supply chain management theme. Professors grade papers as part of the selection process.
Work with professors to identify a candidate who has a real interest in a supply chain management career with a deserving academic performance record. Roundtable board will review credentials of the proposed students and select a student to represent their roundtable at conference.
Ask universities to nominate a student who meets the criteria and generally accept the professor’s nominee.
Send an application and notice to supply chain management and logistics faculty at area colleges. The application asks for basic information such as name, address, and also for a list of logistics related courses, how the student's tuition is financed and to describe any logistics related full-time or part-time employment. The student must be majoring or pursuing a concentration in logistics. The faculty is asked to inform potential applicants and to hand out the applications. Completed applications are circulated among roundtable board members and the winner is chosen during a meeting of the board.
Use a scholarship award program as a springboard. From the pool of candidates for the scholarship, select the highest-ranking applicant to attend the conference.
Have colleges and universities participate in an evening event (Logistics Challenge) where they compete against each other on logistics and business questions from a variety of sources. Use a format similar to that of the "College Bowl" from TV and Logistics Pursuit. Winner of the event attends the conference.
Send a questionnaire to those students wishing to participate. Application includes: a copy of the college transcript, a letter of recommendation, a few paragraphs about why the student would like to attend the conference and his/hers interest in supply chain management. Upon receiving the applications, the committee reviews the responses and selects the candidate whom they will sponsor.
Select the student from resumes submitted by professors from colleges in the roundtable area. Each spring, professors are invited to submit resumes along with a cover letter for worthy candidates. The roundtable officers then reach a consensus on the winning candidate.

If you would like more information or have any questions about this program, you can contact the local roundtable nearest you or contact Sherrie Nauden, Roundtable Manager or by phone at (630) 645-3466 for more information.