Need Tech Transfer Interns Next Summer? Now Is the Time to Get Started
A few years ago, Fuentek released a paper about best practices about setting up effective internship programs for technology transfer offices (TTOs), particularly at universities. As I noted in my blog post about starting a program for TTO interns, a key recommendation is…
Start early.
October is too early to think about that, you say? Well, let’s back it out:
- You want your interns to start in mid- to late-May, at the beginning of their summer break.
- So the interns need to be trained in early May.
- Which means you need to select the interns and deliver the training program by late April.
- So candidate interviews need to happen throughout April.
- That means the call for applicants needs to go out no later than early March. (Ideally it would go out earlier, since you are competing with other summer internship programs.)
And if you are establishing an internship program for the first time, you need even more time for:
- Determining the structure of the internship program
- Designing and developing the training
- Obtaining management buy-in
- Possibly securing budgetary resources
So, the time to start planning for next summer is now. Remember, you’re competing against lots of other organizations for your university’s top talent. If you want the best of the best, you need to be ahead of the pack.
For more details, check out our white paper “Developing an Effective Internship Program for Your University’s TTO.” Or check out Fuentek’s other Insights on establishing tech transfer internship programs.
And whether you’re setting up a TTO internship program for the first time or wanting to boost the effectiveness of what you have, Fuentek can help. Send me a note through our Contact Us page.
