Interested in Connecting With Young Talent?

The Iowa Student Internship Program is your chance to work with emerging leaders, by providing students with hands-on work experience. It’s also a great opportunity for your company to see their skills and talents in action!

“Our intern was a pleasure to work with. He fit in extremely well and was not daunted by any of the tasks he was given,” said one of the employers who participated in the program. “We are very impressed with his skill set and ability to adapt to our environment. He was excited to take on new challenges and to learn new skills.”

“I had the opportunity to work on several different projects,” remembers one intern. “Each project allowed me to both learn a lot and to contribute value to the company. In addition, my internship supervisor and co-workers offered continual guidance and support and invited to me to ask questions and participate in meetings – which made for a very positive experience”

The Iowa Student Internship Program provides grants to small and medium sized companies in the advanced manufacturing, biosciences and information technology industries to help support its internship programs with a goal of transitioning the interns to full-time employment in the state upon graduation.

The Student Internship Program is a unique partnership of academia, industry and government all working together to link young Iowans to the state’s unlimited career opportunities. The program offers interns the opportunity to gain valuable work experience that will help them in their future career and it helps Iowa companies recruit their future workforce.

“This was my first exposure to real world engineering,” said another intern who was fully immersed in the business world. “I was fortunate to see experienced engineers solving real world problems. I also enjoyed the hands-on, independent work.”

Another employer that participated in the program also had a positive experience. “We have been pleased with the internship experience. The students that we worked with brought a great attitude and the ability to learn quickly.”

In 2014, 88 companies were awarded funding for more than 189 internships. This number has increased significantly since 2013, with 17 new companies participating in the fiscal year 2014 program.  Companies from across Iowa, in 34 counties, were able to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with skilled, emerging leaders from community colleges, private colleges, and the regent universities.

Currently accepting applications:
The deadline for fiscal year 2015 applications is April 30, 2015 (or when funds are depleted). Fiscal year 2015 internships must be completed by September 2015.

Eligibility:
The program is available to Iowa companies that do the following:

• Engage in one of our targeted industries of biosciences, advanced manufacturing or information technology.
• Employ 500 or fewer, with a significant portion employed within the state of Iowa.
• Pay the intern at least twice the minimum wage.
• Offer the internship to students of Iowa community colleges, private colleges, regent universities or to students who graduated from an Iowa high school and attend a college or university outside of the state. (An eligible student must be within one to two years of graduation.)
• An eligible student must be within two years of graduation and enrolled at one of Iowa’s community colleges, private colleges or regent institutions.

For more information contact Jennifer Meier at 515.725.3013 or [email protected]