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 internship program is in its third year and awarded 169 internship grants to 77 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 those surveyed, 24 percent had interned with the company in the past, 61 percent were planning on staying in Iowa after graduation and 84 percent were willing to accept an offer of full-time employment from the company with which he/she interned.

Internship Company: Aerospace Geartech, Inc.

Intern: Nicholas Sims — Nicholas obtained the internship while attending Des Moines Area Community College. “I really learned a lot and was able to apply my skills, which helped reinforce my desire to work in this field. I was told I have leadership skills and could be a good instructor.”

Intern: Kimberly McCoy — Kimberly obtained the internship while attending Des Moines Area Community College. “I really found the internship to be rewarding. I am going to take classes to gain more knowledge related to advanced manufacturing and the machine tool and die programs.”

Manager: Vince Basile — Nick was expected to learn the CNC process' required to manufacture small precision gears and lead another intern through this exercise to prove the process. After testing these processes, Nick and Kimberly implemented each step required along with sample time studies for the various parts made at AGT. These processes have now been entered into our MRP system, thanks to Nick and Kimberly. Both Kimberly and Nick will continue working P/T at AGT until graduation, at that time, if there is an open position, I will offer them both a job.

Internship Company: EnSoft Corp

Intern: Bhavana Padakala — “As the sales and marketing intern at Ensoft, I gained a very good understanding of the sales process in a small company. I learned how to approach companies, how to develop a rapport with customers and how to maintain good customer relationships. I gained experience in writing marketing emails and initiating marketing campaigns. I assisted the staff in processing RFQs and sales. I also helped systemize these duties for future interns.This internship helped me form a perspective of the sales process where demand is not only met, but also created. It is interesting how companies can make the customers need their products.”

Manager: Jeremias Sauceda — In response to the growth in our customer base, EnSoft adopted salesforce.com, a popular CRM used by many Fortune 500 companies. Bhavana's background as an industrial engineer helped us systematize how we use salesforce.com. She produced a manual that detailed how to use the system in a way that fits our business.