About 220 companies came to UF as part of Career Showcase.
Students had the chance to walk around the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and conduct open-table interviews with various companies.
Students rest on bleachers in between the first and second floors of the fair at the Spring 2016 Career Showcase at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Tuesday.
Macy’s, Microsoft and Pepsi Co. were among the big companies that came, but students also got the chance to interview with new companies, such as SynDaver Labs. The company designs and manufactures synthetic humans and plans to hire up to 60 UF engineering students at the showcase.
The company is looking for students to manufacture the artificial humans, which are used by medical students, the military and hospitals.
This is the first career fair at which SynDaver Labs is recruiting, said Chris Sakezles, a UF alumnus and the founder and CEO of the firm. The human replicas use artificial bones, tissues, tendons and joints.
The synthetic humans are made from water, salts and fibers, Sakezles said.
Sakezles said it is a more affordable and ethical alternative to animal and cadaver testing. The company currently has more than 100 employees.
“We are exploding at the seams right now,” Sakezles said. “So we are definitely looking to hire new employees.”
While the company is mainly looking for mechanical and biomedical engineering majors, students don’t need to be in engineering, said Bill Wright, the director of operations at SynDaver.
“As this company expands, we are going to need people with all kinds of skill sets,” Wright said.
A UF student hydrates as he moves between company tables on the O'Connell Center's track. Hundreds of students attended the Spring 2016 Career Showcase to meet with companies seeking non-technical employees.
Alexander Fardella said he was impressed by the artificial human SynDaver Labs had at its table on the second floor of the O’Connell Center on Tuesday.
“I think that this kind of technology is pretty revolutionary,” the 20-year-old UF civil engineering junior said. “We don’t need a real person’s anatomy in order to practice and learn.”
The Career showcase will continue today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the O’Connell Center.
Students meet with employers from companies like Aramark, Target, P&G, Nationwide Insurance and Verizon during the first non-technical day of Spring Career Showcase on Jan. 26, 2016. Two floors of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center held hundreds of tables for UF students and alumni.
