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While the job market and economy continue to look grim, more than 260 corporate and higher education professionals from across the country will gather at Drexel to discuss the value of cooperative education and the challenge companies face for employees with diverse and global talent. The symposium presented by the University and the National Commission for Cooperative Education, will be held on June 27, at Drexel. Keynote speakers will be Raj Gupta, chairman and CEO of Rohm and Haas and Mark Schweiker, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Gupta’s remarks will focus on how companies can recruit and retain talent in today’s global economy, while Schweiker will speak on how winning regions develop a skilled workforce.The symposium will also feature a panel of university presidents that will spark dialogue between the corporate representatives at the symposium and academic leaders from seven cooperative education colleges and universities. Drexel President Constantine Papadakis, Miami Dade College President Eduardo Patron and Rochester Institute of Technology President William Destler will be among the panelists. A separate corporate panel will focus on the best human resource practices for recruiting diverse and global talent.The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) recently reported that most college graduates lack communication, interview and presentation skills. Students learn these skills while on their co-op jobs, according to Peter Franks, executive director of Drexel’s Steinbright Career Development Center. “Students with internships always have an advantage,” he said. “But when it comes to quality performance and skills co-op jobs outrank internships.” Through cooperative education or co-op as it’s known, students alternate classroom study with periods of paid professional-level employment.Drexel’s 90-year-old co-op program comprises 1,500 employer organizations in 42 states and 20 international locations. Papadakis serves as chair of the National Commission for Cooperative Education Board of Trustees. For the symposium’s complete agenda, visit www.co-op.edu. ### News Media Contact: Niki Gianakaris, Assistant Director, Drexel News Bureau 215-895-6741, 215-778-7752 (cell) or ngianakaris@drexel.edu