In May 2025, a team of five Boise State College of Business and Economics supply chain management students wrapped up an intensive, semester-long data analytics project in partnership with Micron. The company is a leading U.S. semiconductor manufacturer and has collaborated with Boise State on a student project every spring since 2019.
For this spring’s project, the students were given a large dataset, a spreadsheet containing over 42,000 rows, related to Micron’s fabrication processes. They were tasked with cleaning and interpreting the data, providing descriptive statistics and making recommendations to increase process efficiency. Students wrapped up the project with an hour-long presentation at the Micron offices.
Real-world challenges
It was the first time many of the students had worked on a project of this size and scale, and they were new to Micron’s technology and processes.
“This program offers students a valuable opportunity to work with a real client—an experience typically not available until after graduation,” said Jim Kroes, Boise State professor in supply chain management and the faculty advisor for the program. “It enables students to apply their knowledge of operations and supply chain management in a practical, hands-on setting that goes beyond what can be taught in the classroom.”
Early in the semester, after the students compiled their initial analysis and visualizations using the new-to-them software, Tableau, they shared their first deliverable with the Micron team. They were told to go back to the drawing board.
“We presented our first deliverable, and in the nicest way, the feedback was a bloodbath,” said Ella Wales, a recently graduated supply chain management student and project team member. “It was tough love. In many classes you just get a grade, but you don’t get a grade on this project – you have to produce a work. When we didn’t deliver, the Micron team really pushed us. We got new information and had to change how we were thinking. It helped me learn about adaptability and shifting my mindset to reach an end goal. Thanks to the feedback, we knocked deliverable two out of the park. It was really rewarding.”
Mentors paving the way
Throughout the semester, the Micron team not only met with the students as a group regularly, but also met with the students one-on-one, providing mentoring and career advice. At the end of their presentation, each student mentioned their appreciation for the time and care invested by the Micron team.
“The Boise State project allows me the opportunity to connect with students who I somewhat see as my contemporaries,” said Jacob Garofalo, a manufacturing engineer at Micron and student mentor for the project. “As a former participant turned Micron employee, I recognize firsthand the impact this project has had on my professional life and career. Micron allows me to now take the role of mentor, taking time to advise the students through the project and ultimately help them weave together all the skills they have gained at Boise State into one ultimate ‘capstone’ style project. The soft skills developed, and the confidence acquired through the project are invaluable to a student, and a huge growth opportunity beyond the classroom.”
Learn more about Boise State’s partnership with Micron.