Growing Verizon Partnership Builds Pathways to Success

From left: Matthew Butz and Jacob Hamilton, vice presidents of network engineering at Verizon; UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe; Suzanne Schnaars, associate director of the tech ambassador office at Verizon; Sumit Singh MBA'01, vice president of network planning, engineering and provisioning systems at Verizon; and Mark Christensen, special advisor for industry engagement and innovation impacts at UT Dallas.

Leaders from The University of Texas at Dallas and Verizon recently convened to reflect on a growing collaboration - one that is quickly becoming a model for how universities and industry can work together to shape the future.

The gathering at Verizon's Irving, Texas, campus celebrated student innovation and underscored a shared commitment to aligning academic discovery with real-world impact.

For UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe, that alignment is central to the University's future.

"I want UT Dallas to be the anchor institution for North Texas," Moghe said. "We need to create alliances between companies like Verizon and UT Dallas that allow our best minds to address our community's strategic needs."

That philosophy - the convergence between academia and industry - is shaping how UT Dallas approaches external partnerships. In order to extend the University's impact beyond campus, UT Dallas is building relationships that connect students, faculty and industry around shared challenges.

"The problems of the future will exist at the intersection of disciplines," Moghe said. "A university like UT Dallas is best positioned to bring together experts and drive forward-thinking solutions."

The collaboration between UT Dallas and Verizon has grown steadily in recent years as it has benefited research projects, workforce development and experiential learning opportunities.

Verizon has engaged UT Dallas students through mentorship opportunities, recruitment initiatives and hands-on projects. The company participates in career development programs, such as resume reviews, mock interviews and networking events, while helping build a pipeline of graduates prepared for engineering and technology careers. More than 350 UT Dallas alumni work at Verizon, and the company is currently a primary supporter of the University Career Center's employer partnership program, which improves the job search experience for both students and the company.

Through the UTDesign EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) program, Verizon sponsors student teams that solve practical challenges for nonprofit and charitable organizations, such as improving application efficiency in cloud environments and designing systems and products.

"It's a great partnership," said Suzanne Schnaars, associate director of the tech ambassador office at Verizon. "There's so much potential to engage students and faculty in project work that also advances Verizon's initiatives."

Learning Beyond the Classroom

UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe and Sumit Singh MBA'01, vice president of network planning, engineering and provisioning systems at Verizon.

The recent Smart Campus Competition exemplifies this model in action.

Launched at UT Dallas as part of a multiuniversity initiative, Verizon's Smart Campus Competition challenged students to "reimagine your campus" using the company's 5G technologies. The competition was coordinated via a collaboration between the UT Dallas Center for Workforce Development and the corporate relations team in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. More than 150 students formed interdisciplinary teams to develop solutions to real-world problems.

One student team developed a system to optimize emergency communications in crisis zones. Another designed an artificial intelligence-powered platform to streamline clinical documentation for physicians. A third created a high-precision navigation app to improve accessibility in complex environments like airports and hospitals.

"A university provides us with a place for good, solid experimentation," said Sumit Singh MBA'01, vice president of network planning, engineering and provisioning systems at Verizon. "We bring the problems from industry, and students gain important knowledge about their future careers. They will be much better positioned after these experiences.

"The world is changing so fast. Our jobs are changing, and the workforce of the future will have to have to be prepared with deep industry knowledge."

In this environment, technical skills alone are no longer enough.

"Everyone we interview has a good GPA," Singh said. "The best recruits are differentiated by their engagement with real problems during college. Those students understand how the world operates. Participating in competitions like the Smart Campus Competition really sets students apart from their peers."

That same principle is shaping Moghe's long-term vision for ensuring career readiness for UT Dallas students.

"In order for us to reflect the evolving needs of industry in our curriculum, we have to make sure that our students have internships, that they are working on research projects with faculty and with our partners in industry," he said.

Expanding Innovation in North Texas

UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe (left) and Sumit Singh MBA'01, vice president of network planning, engineering and provisioning systems at Verizon, are shown with Karen Martinez BS'25, Sabrina Castillo BS'25 and Alexandra Guerrero BA'25 of Team Maraki, one of three UT Dallas student teams named as winners of Verizon's Smart Campus Competition.

Beyond student engagement, the partnership between Verizon and UT Dallas also is driving impactful research.

For example, Dr. Bingzhe Li, assistant professor of computer science, has been working with Verizon on sponsored projects focused on optimizing infrastructure and advancing next-generation technologies. And in the Richardson Innovation Quarter, researchers in UT Dallas' OpenLab work with Verizon to test, evaluate and develop the next generation of 5G products and services.

For Moghe, these connections are essential not only for the University, but also for the broader community.

"There is an amazing momentum that makes the North Texas region special," Moghe said. "UT Dallas is part of that, and when we can work together with our partners in industry, we can really drive growth."

"There is an amazing momentum that makes the North Texas region special. UT Dallas is part of that, and when we can work together with our partners in industry, we can really drive growth." UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe