Internships

The Entrepreneurial Internship Initiative, or EII, was initially subsidized by the Kauffman Foundation in Summer, 2002, allowing students to gain experience in an entrepreneurial setting. Typical organizations have less than $50 million in revenue or fewer than 100 employees, or, in a larger corporate setting, are fully committed to spinning out a new venture. Both commercial and social ventures are eligible.

In the five years since the program was initiated, nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate students have participated in the program. These students were significant contributors to many ventures with CEOs' commenting that interns were pivotal in their efforts. Several companies offered students extended internships and full time employment offers. In a survey of participating students fully half the participants responded that they would have accepted the internship for half the salary or for no salary at all, indicating that the salary was less important to the students than the learning experience.

Washington University students are well suited for a number of jobs. Students from all Schools at the University and degree programs are eligible for the program. The company determines the assignment and scope of work. Through classes, co-curricular organizations, and area agencies, Washington University students participate in a variety of outreach programs offering medical, legal, and social services. Students have been recognized for achievements in areas as diverse as genetic engineering, social work, and fashion design, and have received such prestigious graduate study awards as the Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, Beinecke, and Truman Scholarships, and Goldwater, Mellon, Putnam, National Science Foundation, and National Graduate Fellowships, as well as the Howard Hughes Fellowship for undergraduate research. Our entrepreneurship curriculum and collaborative co-curricular offerings prepare students to add value in challenging entrepreneurial environments.

The Process

• To facilitate finding an internship, the Skandalaris Center hosts an Internship Fair in the spring. At the fair, organizations take two minutes to describe their venture and the internship opportunities available. Students from all schools and degree programs at the University attend. After the presentations, refreshments are served and students and representatives from the organizations may connect.
• During the summer, the Skandalaris Center hosts a dinner for interns in St. Louis to learn about their experience and to facilitate peer learning.
• Upon completion of the internship, the Skandalaris Center asks students to complete an online survey describing the internship experience. We may also ask students to participate in information sessions with other students to raise awareness of the program.
• Students receive no academic credit for the summer work, but may pursue a follow-up independent study in the fall, if they recruit a faculty member to support the project. The independent study may take the form of preparing a teaching case study on their summer experience. This may result in published works which could be shared more broadly or used as part of the entrepreneurship curriculum.

Quotes from past student participants:

• I gained greater insight about how valuable it is to be collaborative and flexible. I also learned more about economic development in terms of small business.
• Even for a non-profit the business still needs to find a way to break even. This often includes thinking of creative ways to generate revenue or funding. Entrepreneurship covers such a wide spectrum of skills; so many details go into starting a business, many of which I hadn't thought about before.
• My internship taught me the importance of being flexible and willing to adapt to an ever-changing set of circumstances. The company often had a set of goals it wanted to accomplish. However, how we accomplished those goals was often much different than we had originally planned.
• Being involved with a start-up allowed me to understand many of the details and strategy that are involved with getting this type of venture "off the ground." In addition, it exposed me to some very high-energy, bright people. Finally, working with the company allowed me to be exposed to a new industry.
• I learned that integrity and the ability to work with people are more important than anything else in business---you can learn everything else you need to know along the way. Flexibility, patience, determination and optimism are extremely valuable qualities for anyone interested in an entrepreneurial venture. At the end of the day, it means a lot to know that my work can have tangible, meaningful, positive impact on the world around me.
• My internship experience altered my view of what it takes to survive as an entrepreneur. It also helped me focus my career search and helped me understand what I want to do after school. It was a truly valuable experience.