Internships The Iowa Student Internship Program links college students from Iowa schools to internship opportunities in small and medium sized firms in the biosciences, advanced manufacturing and information technology industries with the goal of transitioning the interns to full-time employment in the state upon graduation.

Interns in the program experienced a unique partnership of academia, industry and government all working together to link young Iowans to the state's unlimited career opportunities and help Iowa companies to recruit their future workforce.

The program saw increased success in its second year, awarding 168 internship grants to 85 companies. Many of the companies that received the awards were past award recipients through the program, thus allowing the company to bring interns from the previous summer back for additional experience.

The interns took a survey at the end of their internship and of the interns surveyed 18 percent of the interns had interned with the company in the past, 55 percent of the interns were planning on staying in Iowa after graduation and 80 percent of the interns were willing to accept an offer of full-time employment from the company with which he/she interned.

Internship Company: Almaco

Intern: Adam Sporrer

“Coming into my internship I did not entirely know what to expect, but my time here has been a great experience. I have learned a lot of aspects of enginering and industry that I had not seen at my previous internship. The projects and daily tasks I have worked one have been both fun and challenging, which any engineer would enjoy. My biggest expectation was to expand my knowledge of the engineering field, and the people here have been very helpful in assisting me with this.”

Company: Fizzix Mfg

Intern: William Ketchen

“The internship was a great experience. I was able to virtually do anything and play any role that was required of me. From getting my hands dirty and actually producing the goods Frog Legs and Fizzix sell, to starting a subsidiary wheelchair company and performing cost analysis and sales projections necessary to define a market opportunity. While working and learning the various roles and functions that take a product from conception to reality I was able to identify improvements in certain processes, more efficient ways to trouble shoot problems and implement production goals designed to minimize the company’s waste of materials and maximize the production of its workforce. I also learned about the new trends in the Internet world and developed a Web site that will bring Frog Legs to the forefront of the new Internet technology, making it easier for in house Web site content/product management.”