How the University of Cincinnati co-op program is shaping the future of work at SXSW

Today, those alums are leading workforce development in some of the most influential companies in the world: Jeremy Jarrett, president and CEO of Kinetic Vision; Ryan Rosenzweig, director of business strategy for cloud and artificial intelligence platforms at Microsoft; and Lee Ellen Drechsler, senior vice president at P&G.

For Jarrett the path from student to CEO began decades ago.

“I started working for Kinetic Vision 35 years ago as an undergraduate co-op, and now I’m CEO,” Jarrett said.

The University of Cincinnati pioneered cooperative education in 1906, becoming the first university in the United States to integrate paid professional experience into the academic curriculum. UC’s co-op program remains one of the largest in the nation, helping students graduate with real-world experience and strong career outcomes

With over 1,700 co-op company partners, the university is serving as a 2026 Workplace Track sponsor at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Innovation Conference March 12-18 in Austin, Texas. 

SXSW is one of the largest technology conferences in the country. 

From the panel event featuring industry leaders to the Next Lab lounge offering lightning talks and a hub for interactive sessions and discussions for attendees, UC Bearcats proved how they’re disrupting the workplace. 

UC’s SXSW panel, held March 13 and moderated by UC Associate Professor and Director of the Next Innovation Scholars program Aaron Bradley, dove into all facets of experience-based learning and how it mutually benefits students and companies in the digital age. 

Jarrett spoke to the longevity that experience-based learning can provide, allowing students to find their best fit before they graduate and build meaningful relationships. 

Drechsler emphasized how co-op has grown to encompass students in all kinds of disciplines and how that growth has been instrumental in P&G’s development of cutting-edge technologies.

“I absolutely love the co-op program at UC because we get to have students from design, from engineering, from cognitive science, finance — all the things you would need to build a new business,” Drechsler said during the panel.

She explained the overall need to shake up an industry like consumer goods: focus groups can only inform a business so much. It’s the people rolling up their sleeves to build prototypes for their own futures that drive real innovation. That’s how her team of research and development leaders worked with co-op students to launch EC30, a startup within P&G that reimagines how home products are made with sustainability in focus.

When Bradley asked Drechsler what EC30 would look like without UC, she stated it simply: “It would not exist.”

“These kinds of disruptions don't come around every day,” she said. “It’s a really special atmosphere that you don’t get anywhere else.”

Watch the full SXSW panel discussion. 

UC is making an impact in Austin all week through its Next Lab lounge, providing a space for conference attendees to relax, network and hear from industry leaders in a more intimate environment. Drechsler and Jarrett led more in-depth discussions about how they got their ideas up and running and how UC helped make them a success.

On March 16, Helen Todd, founder of CincyAI, gave a talk on responsible artificial intelligence usage. 

“We are so excited that the University of Cincinnati is a sponsor of the workplace innovation track here at SXSW,” Todd said. “We want to help support UC and put Cincinnati on the map.”

She and other guest speakers connected with thousands of attendees, including over 40 UC students who were on site networking with others in their respective industries.

Jaden Walton, a fifth year student in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and a student entrepreneur in residence, came to SXSW with a startup already under his belt: interscholastic sports management software Motiv. 

Featured image at top of panel by Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand.