UM to Host First Internship Management Workshop

The value of internships, both to organizations and students, is well-known. For organizations, a strong intern program can maintain a pipeline of qualified candidates for full-time roles, and internships and other forms of experiential education can help students make a seamless transition to the world of work.

The University of Mississippi School of Business Administration will host its first Total Internship Management Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Jackson Avenue Center, Auditorium A.

The Total Internship Management Workshop, hosted by the School of Business Administration, is designed to help businesses of all sizes build successful internship programs. Submitted photo.

The workshop, presented by Intern Bridge Inc., an Austin-based research and consulting firm, has been designed to serve the needs of companies and organizations seeking to create successful internships for students and entry-level talent initiatives.

“Intern Bridge is the nation’s premier college recruiting consulting and research firm,” said Robert Shindell, president and CEO of Intern Bridge. “We survey over 25,000 students annually to capture trends of internship and recruiting experiences.

“The critical survey data is the basis for our work: helping companies build meaningful entry-level talent programs and assisting career centers to better serve their student populations.”

The workshop helps organizations of all sizes build successful internship programs. The program is based on in-depth research in successful management of internship programs.

The workshop includes detailed statistics from proprietary research. Qualitative and quantitative responses will be shared from the National Internship and Co-op Study, a detailed examination of what makes internship programs successful based on the responses of more than 225,000 students from more than 500 universities.

“Businesses are struggling to find qualified workers these days,” said Jon Maynard, president and CEO of the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation and Chamber of Commerce. “This problem cuts across all sectors of both large and small businesses.

“Students, high school and post-secondary, desperately need to understand what job opportunities actually exist for them. There is no better way to begin solving the workforce issues on both ends of the spectrum than internships.”

Statistics from a recent National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Experiential Education Survey indicate that almost 40 percent of employers’ full-time, entry-level hires came from their internship programs.

Companies are recognizing the value of having a structured talent pipeline via interns. Also, nearly two-thirds of interns are offered full-time positions after having interned with an organization.

Through in-depth proprietary research, the six-hour curricula for the program has been tested and proved effective in obtaining and retaining new talent – a strategy that all but guarantees that both organizations and interns will benefit from the effective implementation of an internship program.

“We’re excited to host this workshop to support employers’ internship programs,” said Wesley Dickens, assistant director of experiential education at the Ole Miss business school. “Internships are a great opportunity for organizations to identify future hires and increase brand awareness on college campuses.

“They are also vital for students to build employability skills. It really is a win-win for everyone.”

The workshop will teach attendees to launch and run a meaningful internship program and create and maintain a pipeline of highly qualified candidates.

The process considers critical factors of internship programming, including understanding what current students are seeking, program structure, choosing the best supervisor, marketing the opportunity, orientation, compensation, benefits and personnel evaluation.

To register for the workshop, follow this link. Registration includes a comprehensive workshop to build an effective internship program, breakfast and lunch. Use the code OleMiss10 for a 10 percent registration discount.

By Stella Connell, UM Communications