UC engineering co-op medalist is company's first in Portugal
Vladimir Miskovic was awarded the Herman Schneider Medal
Vladimir Miskovic began playing American football as a high-schooler — which was not a popular activity in his home country of Serbia — and the sport led him to the United States. He moved to Cleveland to play football and, after graduating high school, decided to pursue higher education in mechanical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Miskovic received the 2023 Herman Schneider Medal, an annual award given to a graduating senior in the College of Engineering and Applied Science who demonstrates exceptional work as a co-op student.
“I was always interested in how things worked,” Miskovic said. “Mechanical engineering came to mind as a great way to explore that passion. It’s one of the most versatile majors in engineering and has allowed me to do many things.”
Vladimir Miskovic at Herman Schneider Award banquet. Photo/provided.
In the classroom he learned about engineering processes in theory, but yearned to see how they worked in practice. Thanks to UC's cooperative education (co-op) program, ranked No. 4 in the nation, he could. Miskovic's first co-op job was in Columbus, Indiana at Leoni Wiring Systems, a global company specializing in wiring harnesses, which are systems that run throughout vehicles and relay information and electric power to them. Miskovic went on to complete all five of his co-op rotations at Leoni.
The nationally ranked program provides undergraduate students with real-world learning experience that places them into the professional field almost immediately, developing skills and confidence for their career after graduating. Co-op students are trusted, expected and encouraged by their employer to contribute meaningful work while they’re there.
“From the day that I walked into Leoni, I was able to work on an important project, and a month later, my boss sent me to North Carolina to present it to the customer,” he said.
The customer was Caterpillar Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of construction equipment. For his third co-op, Miskovic moved to North Carolina to work with Caterpillar on behalf of Leoni.
“That opportunity gave me a chance to have a sort of co-op within a co-op, because I was working for Leoni and Caterpillar at the same time,” he said.
His final two co-ops with Leoni were in Portugal. His boss at the time presented him with the opportunity and shared that it was something the company had not done before. However, the offer came with a caveat. Since Miskovic would be the first Leoni co-op in Portugal, they didn’t have a system in place to help him with the logistics of the move, such as the visa process and finding transportation and housing. Additionally, if he were to live there for two semesters, he needed to learn to speak Portuguese.
Miskovic wasn’t deterred; he was up for the challenge. Over the course of eight months, he took more than 50 courses in Portuguese and was able to master the language.
Miskovic at Caterpillar, Inc.
“I knew Portuguese pretty well before I even got there. I was able to find an apartment, get directions and get my visa without too many problems. If I didn’t know the language, this experience wouldn’t have been the same,” he said.
In the two semesters he spent in Portugal, Miskovic traveled the country north to south several times, traveled other parts of Europe and showed his UC friends around when they came to visit. Additionally, as part of his work with Caterpillar, he traveled to the United Kingdom for a customer visit.
“That gave me an opportunity to get the experience and understanding of how culture plays into engineering and how the work changes as we cross borders,” Miskovic said.
Although Miskovic was at one company for all five of his co-op rotations, he received a wide variety of work experience in many departments at Leoni. In Portugal, he had three main roles: manufacturing, costing and designing.
In manufacturing, he worked as an operator performing tasks including assembly and assisting manufacturing engineers with improving manufacturing times. In costing, he used his operator experience to provide estimates of labor and materials required to create customers’ wiring harnesses. In designing, he took customer designs and created internal 2D drawings that fit Leoni standards and specifications. Working in different areas of the company gave him a complete view of what Leoni does.
UC students often choose to work for multiple companies during their five co-op rotations, but two things kept Miskovic at Leoni: opportunities and connections. Working with Caterpillar, being the first co-op at Leoni Portugal and traveling to the United Kingdom on a customer visit were some of these opportunities.
Traveling the world, I've made so many connections and gotten to know so many people that can be helpful to me. I have a great support system around the world that I can rely on.
Vladimir Miskovic, 2023 Herman Schneider Medalist
Miskovic on his first day at Leoni Portugal. Photo/provided.
Miskovic was the first co-op at Leoni Portugal, but he will not be the last. In his final co-op with the company, he developed a training course on international co-op experience that will be used to help onboard future co-ops and full-time new hires.
“I hope to leave a legacy within my co-op company and the University of Cincinnati that benefits future co-op students,” he said.
Throughout his years at UC, Miskovic remained heavily involved on campus. He is a peer mentor to underclass students, assisting them in pursuing their version of success and is the Electrical Sub-Team Leader on the Formula SAE vehicle as part of Bearcat Motorsports, a student organization that involves race car design and manufacturing. Bearcat Motorsports gives him a chance to do the one thing he was not able to do as a co-op at Leoni: design a wiring schematic and manufacture a wiring harness independently.
I hope to leave a legacy within my co-op company and the University of Cincinnati that benefits future co-op students.
Vladimir Miskovic, 2023 Herman Schneider Medalist
After graduating this spring, he will be moving to Raleigh, North Carolina, to work full-time with Leoni.
“My engineering position at Leoni, called a resident engineer, is someone who covers a variety of topics, serving as a liaison between the customer’s design team and Leoni’s manufacturing plants spread around the world,” Miskovic said.
Along with the 2023 Herman Schneider Medal, Miskovic also received the Peggy Jarvie International Work Experience Award from the Cooperative Education and Internship Association.
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Feature image at top: Miskovic at SC Braga game in Portugal. Photo/provided.
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Vladimir Miskovic began playing American football as a high-schooler— which was not a popular activity in his home country of Serbia — and the sport led him to the United States. He moved to Cleveland to play football and, after graduating high school, decided to pursue higher education in mechanical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Miskovic received the 2023 Herman Schneider Medal, an annual award given to a graduating senior in the College of Engineering and Applied Science who demonstrates exceptional work as a co-op student.