Like many other student opportunities, internships are being reimagined at UNC-Chapel Hill in the midst of COVID-19. With the pandemic disrupting and eliminating many traditional internship experiences this summer, the leaders of several of the innovation and entrepreneurship programs at the University teamed up this spring to launch a new type of internship program – one that could still provide students with quality, hands-on learning opportunities, while allowing for collaboration in a virtual environment.
Using the same innovative mindset that they instill in their students, program leaders from Innovate Carolina, the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship and The Entrepreneurship Center at Kenan-Flagler Business School (KFBS) pulled together – and then partnered with District C – to create a virtual, summer consulting internship pilot program.
The Entrepreneurial Consulting Internship Program is designed to provide students with a hands-on learning experience, connecting them with startups and business partners to solve complex problems within a condensed timeframe. The launch of the program is an example of teamwork itself, with the four program partners working in concert to develop the program in less than 45 days.