Guidelines
The Michigan Corporate Relations Network (MCRN) is a statewide university network designed to create partnerships that will connect state industry to critical university talent in ways that will help the Michigan economy grow and prosper. Six public universities in Michigan make up the network. They are Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Dearborn. One component of the MCRN is the Small Company Internship Award Program (SCIA). This program provides funding to each school that meets the requirements outlined below to help Michigan small businesses hire students to work as interns on projects which are STEM-related and that are both beneficial to the company and academically relevant to the student.
ELIGIBILITY, AWARD, AND REPORTING GUIDELINES
- Participation in the program is based on a first-come, first-serve eligibility basis.
- A company may only submit applications to TWO schools total
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The company is a start-up or a small-sized Michigan business, up to 250 employees with business operations located in Michigan. Prioritized preference will be given to:
- A company that is focused on innovative work in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields and provides a STEM internship
- If not a STEM focused company, should provide a STEM focused internship
- Once accepted into the program, a company may only participate with up to 2 of the network schools (please note that if there are 2 interns from 1 school, they would split 1 award).
- Preference will be given to companies who have not yet received a SCIA award. Companies who have participated in SCIA previously and have hired their previous SCIA intern on a part-time or full-time basis may be considered, but consecutive years of funding is strongly discouraged. Please note that companies are only allowed to have had a total of 2 SCIA awards in the past.
- Each school will manage its own application and selection process to select companies to participate beginning in January 2020. Schools should allocate their funds to companies by April 30, 2020. If there is extra funding available after that date, reallocation of monies to companies on waitlists should take place by May 12, 2020, and all interns should be hired by May 12, 2020.
- The company will conduct interviews, make the internship offer, assign a supervisor, provide orientation, training, and performance expectations and feedback for the intern. Consultation and guidance will be available from the school for development of the internship job description and promoting the internship to qualified students.
- The company agrees to a site visit/phone call before and/or during the internship period by a MCRN school representative.
- The maximum award for a company is up to $3,500.
- The intern’s compensation will be funded 50% from the SCIA program (but not more than the matching award) and 50% from the employer so that, for example, total student earnings of at least $7,000 would need to be reported for the company to be eligible for a matching $3,500 award.
- An hourly rate of pay of a minimum of $12 is recommended, commensurate with academic major, internship expectations, and student’s qualifications.
- Upon completion of internship, company agrees to submit a report outlining the benefits, outcomes, and deliverables gained as a result of internship, as well as the destination of the student upon completion of the internship. This information will be included in the final report to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).