What kinds of professional opportunities do students who intern at startups experience that those working at traditional summer gigs don’t? And how do startup companies benefit? Explore why more students are pursuing the startup internship path and how Innovate Carolina is making more of these student-company connections possible.
Innovate Carolina supports student internships through a variety of opportunities, including Carolina Startup Connect, which allows UNC-Chapel Hill students to apply for awards to supplement unpaid or underfunded learning opportunities with startup companies. In summer 2021, Innovate Carolina granted internship awards totaling $12,000. Carolina Startup Connect funding supported nine students who worked at three Launch Chapel Hill startup companies.
“Students want to connect with startup companies and social enterprises they feel passionate about, and are really torn in choosing an opportunity with one of those companies versus a higher paid opportunity or a different summer job,” says Kimi Yingling, student engagement and events program manager at Innovate Carolina. “I really wanted to help fill that gap and support the companies as well as the students so they could have that valuable learning experience without finances being the obstacle.”
Carolina Startup Connect brings innovation-oriented students together with early-stage ventures to expand career development paths, entrepreneurial skill building, and opportunities for social and economic impact. Through events and funding opportunities, Innovate Carolina engages students from diverse personal and academic backgrounds and startups from a variety of industry segments. Students gain valuable experience and chances to test tracks of professional interest that they might not otherwise get.
“Internships provide students that all-important opportunity to ‘prototype’ or try a field in which they are potentially interested. Startup internships are especially beneficial as, given early-stage companies are generally less structured, they commonly provide interns unique opportunities to work on key projects with core team members,” says Johnathan Robertson, an entrepreneur and UNC alumnus whose financial support has made programs like Carolina Startup Connect possible. “Reciprocally, the value proposition to the startup company is equally compelling as an intern brings the company a fresh, energized perspective without requiring a long-term hiring commitment. Innovate Carolina has developed a win-win proposition with Carolina Startup Connect.”
Robertson worked with Innovate Carolina to launch the Dreamers-Who-Do program, a program managed by Innovate Carolina that provides financial support for student projects and programs that help Carolina students learn what it means to be innovators and entrepreneurs and gives them opportunities to put those insights into practice.
For any student pursuing an internship, always remember that details matter. Whether it’s following up with an email that specifically asks for a role to doing a basic spellcheck of your resume or application, details can make or break an opportunity to gain valuable experience.
“I had a student intern competing for graduate school where there were only 14 spots. She made it past the first stage, but she was still one of 300 applicants,” says Joe Ruiz, PhD, entrepreneur and startup founder of EnzernaBiosciences, who also serves as a CareerWell executive-in-residence at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Graduate School. “In mentoring her, I recommended that during her interview process she should find out what the interviewer says that really catches her attention, and then echo that back in her follow-up communications to help her stand out as a candidate. As a result of her great work and merit, combined with that attention to detail, she gained one of those 14 spots.”
Students, ready to find a summer internship? Startups, ready to hire interns?
Carolina Startup Connect funding is now available for UNC students to supplement underfunded or unpaid summer internships at startup companies or social enterprises that do not have revenue or venture capital funding in excess of $1 million. All details and the two-part application can be found here. The deadline is March 23. Need help finding a UNC intern? Post your opportunity to the 1789 Hub Internship Board by completing this form.
Additional questions? Contact Kimi Yingling at kimberly.yingling@unc.edu.
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