SDSU receives prestigious grant to revolutionize career readiness with esports-inspired platform
San Diego State University, which has student career fairs this month, is set to transform career services with an innovative new approach with a prestigious grant from Strada Education Foundation.
San Diego State University is one of just eight universities nationwide selected for the Innovation in Career Services grant, which will provide up to $300,000 from Strada Education Foundation to develop forward-thinking career guidance programs.
SDSU’s project will redefine career readiness by leveraging the team-based, interactive model of esports to create a virtual career community. The initiative will engage students through cohort-based career coaching, work-based learning, and professional mentoring, preparing them for success in high-demand industries.
“This initiative has the potential to become a game-changer for career readiness at SDSU and for our students,” said Daniel Newell, executive director for Career Services at SDSU.
His team will be partnering with regional community colleges, including San Diego Community College District, to get pre-transfer students engaged, helping them to plan their career journeys better and begin skills development earlier.
Newell said the platform will help students take ownership of their career paths while fostering critical industry connections. It will also allow Newell and his team to scale its efforts, providing more students with the tools and mentorship needed to secure meaningful postgraduation opportunities.
As part of a three-year pilot set to begin in fall 2025, the team plans to serve 250 students. Students will be invited to apply online later in the year.
“By using the team-based, interactive model of esports, we will be engaging students in a way that resonates with them, making career development an active, collaborative experience rather than a passive one,” Newell said. “This approach ensures that every student, regardless of background, has access to coaching, mentorship, and real-world experience like apprenticeships and internships, in a dynamic, virtual space.”
SDSU joins seven other institutions awarded funding to develop new career development models. Strada, in partnership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, awarded Innovation in Career Services grants to institutions that include Georgia State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Iowa.
“These eight institutions are committed to rethinking and reinvigorating their approaches to career services,” Ruth Watkins, Strada’s president of Postsecondary Education, said in announcing the grants. “Using the education-to-career principles as their guide, they will demonstrate how career advising and guidance can make the difference in improving post-completion outcomes for students, particularly those who have traditionally faced the greatest challenges.”
As a university committed to student success and social mobility, SDSU’s innovative approach aligns with Strada’s education-to-career principles, ensuring guidance is student-centered, data-driven and universally accessible.
Career Services has in recent years bolstered career-readiness efforts with on- and off-campus partners to support SDSU students.
In 2023, Career Services launched its Industry Engagement strategy, one that focuses on developing close partnerships with campus, government, private, nonprofit and media for job and internship development. By fall 2024, the strategy resulted in about 14,000 new employer connections and an increase in recruiting events by 200%, Newell said.
"Employers are seeking graduates with hands-on experience and industry connections, and SDSU is committed to bridging that gap,” Newell said.
Several career fairs are forthcoming at SDSU (students check details and, where requested, register online):
- Wednesday, Feb. 5: STEM Career and Internship Fair Day 1
- Thursday, Feb. 6: STEM Career and Internship Fair Day 2
- Thursday, Feb. 27: Spring Career and Internship Fair
- Thursday, March 13: Fowler College of Business Career Fair
- Monday, March 24: Public Health Career Fair
- Tuesday, March 25: Payne School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism Management Job Fair
Thursday, April 10: Just in Time Career Fair
