Honda LaunchPad gives Ohio State students hands-on path to engineering careers

Honda engineers brought the auto industry to campus, giving The Ohio State University students a closer look at how vehicles move from concept to production.

The event, known as Honda LaunchPad Demo Day, connected students with engineers and product developers to walk through the full lifecycle of a vehicle, from early concept and market positioning to engineering decisions and safety considerations.

“We try to give them an experience of a little bit of everything,” said Todd Hemmer, a chief engineer at Honda. “From understanding how a concept is positioned in the market to what different engineers actually do day to day, whether that’s electrical systems, chassis design or safety.”

Students rotated between stations featuring engine components, design elements and interactive demonstrations, including an outdoor vehicle display. Each stop highlighted how different disciplines come together to bring a product to life.

Earlier in the semester, students also participated in an autonomous rover build as part of the program’s industry challenge competition, a separate event designed to deepen hands-on learning and team-based problem solving.

For first-year aerospace engineering student Ali Hamza Shaikh, the event helped connect classroom learning to industry work.

“There was a presentation about the development of the Honda Passport and how it was tested and positioned,” Shaikh said. “It also showed how different teams interact and work together to build something.”

Students also took part in team-based challenges designed to reflect real-world problem solving. In one activity, small groups built a robot to complete specific objectives, requiring them to quickly assess strengths and collaborate under pressure.

“We had to work with people we didn’t know, figure out our strengths and build something together,” Shaikh said. “That part felt very real.”

The experience also helped students better understand potential career paths.

“I like creating things and understanding how they work,” Shaikh said. “Seeing how ideas move into prototyping and testing made it feel like something I could do every day.”

Freshman industrial engineering student Edna Seshie said the experience stood out simply by being in the environment.

“I’m just lucky to be here,” she said. “Having this opportunity and actually seeing it up close is amazing.”

The program reflects a broader effort to connect students with industry and provide early exposure to career pathways.

“This is about giving students access and helping them see themselves in these spaces,” said Alissa Comella. “When they can connect what they’re learning in the classroom to real products, real teams and real careers, it changes how they think about their future.”