Micro-Internships

The Ed2NC Micro-Internship Program is a new initiative designed to help agencies connect with motivated college students for short-term, project-based assignments that may not fit into traditional internship parameters but still constitute a strong student learning experience. The private sector has been utilizing Micro-Internships as a tool to recruit top college candidates for entry-level positions. Ed2NC is excited to offer this opportunity to state agencies as a recruitment strategy to cultivate college talent and compete with the private sector.

Projects developed by partnering agencies can provide a new method to identify and build relationships with outstanding students interested in a public service career. Students will learn about state government and gain the relevant, hands-on experience they can use toward their career endeavors. Project examples might include research, content creation, social media and communications support, data cleansing, and analytics.

Student Eligibility:

University/Community College Students with a minimum of 30 credit hours in a program of study.

Requirements/Parameters:

• Projects must be a minimum of 20 hours to a maximum of 80 hours total during program dates. Projects must have specific learning objectives, clear performance outcomes, and skills required of students to complete the work (Project proposal form below).
• Projects must be paid experiences (market pay for internships typically range between $12 - $17) and have a clear start and end date. The host agencies are responsible for the funding of the micro-internship. 
• Project details must be provided to the selected candidate before the start of the project.
• Agencies must provide a designated professional to supervise, instruct, guide, and complete the final evaluation.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Students participating in projects may have an opportunity to make original creations, inventions, and discoveries as part of their activities. All IP developed as the result of the “project” is the property of the State of North Carolina.

How to get started:

• Your agency will complete the project proposal form.
• Once approved, the Ed2NC program manager will share your opportunity with Ed2NC campus partners.  
• As students express interest and apply for the micro-internships, OSHR/Ed2NC will guide students through the application process and provide additional support, if needed. 
• Once the applications are screened for completeness, they will be sent to you for review. You will select which candidates you wish to interview and coordinate the selection process.
• Once the student is selected, the agency project supervisor will complete the Contract Agreement Form and additional onboarding paperwork from Temp Solutions.
• The agency project supervisor will be responsible for onboarding interns into the agency, providing an overview of the project deliverables, and completing the final evaluation.

Click Here to Propose Micro-Internship Project

** Additional support and guidance will be provided to those agencies who participate

MICRO-INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PROJECT EXAMPLE

Agencies will benefit from the access to students from a diverse scope of program studies, experiences, and skills. Projects developed by partnering agencies can provide a new method to identify and build relationships with outstanding students. Students will learn about state government and gain the relevant, hands-on experience they can use towards their future careers in state government.

Note: This is just a sampling of projects your agency can use when considering a micro-internship.

University/Community College Students with a minimum of 30 credits in a program of study:

• Marketing/Communication Projects: website creation and review, social media campaign development for specific events or projects, presentation refresh, graphic design needs or marketing collateral, content creation, organizational communication analysis, market research, and special events support.
• Computer Science/Technology: development of technical documentation, system review, vendor research, SWOT analysis, cybersecurity analysis, competitive analysis, extracting insights from data, data cleansing/entry, program/database development, trend identification.
• Operations Support: funding/budget review, ROI analysis, contract summaries, accounts receivable reports, financial modeling, recruitment plan development and review, project management support, updating user manuals, technical writing, user experience (UX) analysis.

Graduate Students:

• Research and Strategy: topical research, grant exploration, grant writing and review, policy drafting, regulatory research, comparative studies, public document review, trend identification, best practices in community relations.
• Operations Support: budget research and strategy support, data visualization/analysis, new program development, program/project analysis and review, assessment schemes, UX analysis.

Apply for a Micro-Internship

The mission of the Higher Education to NC Government (Ed2NC) Career Initiative is to bring together leaders in state government and higher education to help create a pipeline of talent by connecting students and recent graduates with careers in state government.

Micro-internships can take students through those first steps in their career journey in public service. These short-term work experiences grow skills, build resumes, extend networks, and instill confidence.

In partnership with state government agencies and colleges/universities, the Ed2NC Micro-Internship Program will provide current North Carolina college students with a paid short-term project (20 to 80 hours). These projects will allow students to explore different roles, perform specific skill-based assignments, gain skills employers seek, and help sponsoring agencies. Students will find a variety of internship opportunities in areas such as marketing/communications; computer science/technology; operational support including ROI analysis and financial modeling. 

All assignments will include an agency project supervisor, quick project orientation, and evaluation. These projects will provide students with new opportunities to build experience and social capital that can be translated to many industries after graduation.

Requirements/Parameters:

• Must be a current student of a North Carolina institution of higher learning.
• Must have a minimum of 30 credits in a program of study or graduate-level candidates.
• Projects in no way entitle a student to further internships, part-time or full-time opportunities with the agency.

Ed2NC is interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas at this time. Selected candidates will be required to complete a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 and will be processed through E-Verify.

How to get started:

• Once projects are listed on the Available Micro-Internships tab, apply!
• Ed2NC project managers will guide students through the application process and provide additional support if needed.
• After the application period closes, the Ed2NC project managers will review each application for completion and advance eligible candidates in the process.
• Agencies will offer interviews to candidates of interest.
• Communication will be provided to applicants who do not advance or are not selected by an agency.
• Selected candidates will receive an offer to accept an Ed2NC Micro-Internship, including project details, required tasks, and compensation. If accepted, students will complete human resources paperwork and onboard with the agency.
• If your internship is not remote, please review the COVID-19 Vaccination or Testing Policy  
• Interns and their supervisors will each complete an evaluation upon completion of the project.

MICRO-INTERNSHIP PROJECT EXAMPLES

Students will learn about state government and gain relevant, hands-on experience to use in their future careers. Projects developed by partnering agencies can provide a new method to identify and build relationships with outstanding students.

Note: This is just a sampling of projects that may be available with participating agencies.

University/Community College Students with a minimum of 30 credits in a program of study:

• Marketing/Communication Projects: website creation and review, social media campaign development for specific events or projects, presentation refresh, graphic design needs or marketing collateral, content creation, organizational communication analysis, market research, and special events support.
• Computer Science/Technology: development of technical documentation, system review, vendor research, SWOT analysis, cybersecurity analysis, competitive analysis, extracting insights from data, data cleansing/entry, program/database development, trend identification.
• Operations Support: funding/budget review, ROI analysis, contract summaries, accounts receivable reports, financial modeling, recruitment plan development and review, project management support, updating user manuals, technical writing, user experience (UX) analysis.

Graduate Students:

• Research and Strategy: topical research, grant exploration, grant writing and review, policy drafting, regulatory research, comparative studies, public document review, trend identification, best practices in community relations.
• Operations Support: budget research and strategy support, data visualization/analysis, new program development, program/project analysis and review, assessment schemes, UX analysis.

Access the searchable database of available micro-internships