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The mINiTERN Program is a partnership between local companies and Dallas College that provides students with real-world business experience through a 10-week externship.

Read More About mINiTERN

Important Dates

mINiTERN At-A-Glance

Program Overview

The mINiTERN program runs for 10 weeks each semester. Students work as a team (4-6 students) to research a topic provided by the host company. At the end of the semester, students will present their research, findings, and recommendations to leadership within the host company. Students will receive 4.8 hours of Continuing Education Units (CUEs) for successfully completing the program. The CUE credits will appear on a student’s transcript.

Program Expectations

  • Program involves a commitment of 6 to 8 hours per week which includes meetings, research, and group discussion
  • Students will attend and actively participate in all team meetings
  • All students will participate in the team final presentation at the end of the semester
  • All students will serve as Team Lead at least once during the semester

Apply to Program

Team meetings will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual meetings as determined by the host company. Students may apply to any program that matches their schedule, but may only participate in one project per semester. 

Students successfully completing the mINiTERN program will receive 4.8 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) which will show on the student's Dallas College transcript.

Hunt logo 

Hunt Consolidated, Inc.

Team Meetings

  • Mondays, 1 - 3 p.m.

Potential Projects

  • What are the economic impacts of extreme weather 
  • Using drones to improve transmission line evaluation
  • Customer strategies for reducing power usage
UTSW logo 

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Team Meetings

  • Fridays, 1 - 3 p.m. 

Potential Projects

  • Using biotechnology to modify DNA in different disease-causing genes
  • Identifying drugs that could target cancer cells for treatment
  • Stimulating cell growth and development in vitro
Irving Logo 

City of Irving

Team Meetings

  • Tuesdays, 2 - 4 p.m.

Potential Projects

  • Engineering/Smart Cities involving transportation, infrastructure, technological innovation, or urban planning. 
  • Environmental initiatives to support public outreach campaign or social media enhancement. 
Halff Logo 

Halff

Team Meetings

  • Thursdays, 12 - 2 p.m.

Potential Projects

  • Survey of technologies such as drones, sensors, etc. to support geospatial applications.

 
Jacobs Engineering Logo 

Jacobs Engineering 

Team Meetings

  • Fridays, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Potential Projects

  • Utilization of technology in smart buildings
City of Farmers Branch Logo 

City of Farmers Branch 

Team Meetings

  • Mondays, 2 -4 p.m.

Potential Projects

  • Improving communication methods to engage residents of Farmers Branch
 
 

STEMCEL mINiTERN Video Chat

Join Dr. Jason Treadway, Director, STEM Institute of Dallas College along with mINiTERN students and Hunt Consolidated, inc. Program Managers as they discuss first hand the positive experiences they had with mINiTERN.

Why should I?

  • Real World Experience
  • Professional Networking Opportunities
  • Leadership Opportunities
  • Build Resume Experience
  • Soft Skills Training
  • Application of Academic Studies

Qualifications

  • Must have completed at least 15 credit hours of college-level course work
  • Must be a currently enrolled student at Dallas College (not applicable during summer)
  • Have a strong desire to gain professional skills and experience
  • Must be available to attend all team meetings (see project list)
  • Understand that time commitment is four to six hours per week for the 10-week program
 
Ben Hetrick
Ben Hetrick
mINiTERN Participant
“The experience of working on a professional research problem and having the chance to give a professional presentation was such a great opportunity for me. The humor and straightforwardness brought to the meetings by the Sharyland staff created a welcoming environment, making it very comfortable and easy to work in.”

[ music ]

[Dr. Jason Treadway, Director, STEM Institute, Dallas College]: We consistently hear from industry that students entering the workforce lack soft skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and time management.

in fact, one industry professional put it this way,

"we hire for hard skills and fire because of soft skills."

Students leaving college to enter the workforce may look great on paper,

however industry is looking for the complete package, and soft skills play an important role in the hiring and retention of employees.

The minitern program provides students a unique opportunity to develop their soft skills in a non-threatening corporate environment.

Students who participate in the minitern program are able to develop their soft skills and will enter the workforce with a distinct advantage.

[ music ]

[Michael Bailey, mINiTERN faculty advisor, Professor of Mathematics Brookhaven Campus,]: Many of us forget what it was like the first day on the job and may be feeling out of place.

People speak really a different language with acronyms, etc.

They have different expectations of us, we may have a different attire and so...and even different levels of accountability about being on time and etc., and how we show up.

And so helping students first acclimate to that new culture, it's...it's exciting to watch them move from anxiety and nervousness to success and kind of holding themselves in a professional manner.

[speaker at event]: Sharyland utilities has reached out to team energy vision to provide recommendations that will minimize the impact of natural disasters...

[Elizabeth Smith Program Manager, Hunt Consolidated inc.]: So what happens is, we give students problems and questions that the company may not have time or resources to develop currently and maybe in the next five to 10 years...

It's estimated that we actually want to implement this for next year...

So the students do the research and look at these problems and then they come in and they talk to the company and tell us all about what they found.

It actually fuels a little bit of conversation in the company and it makes people start to talk, makes people really start to get engaged and think up ideas that we can get out of the box.

[Michael Bailey, mINiTERN faculty advisor, Professor of Mathematics Brookhaven Campus]: students learn how to do project planning. they learn how to handle a meeting -

each of the students take a turn at facilitating a meeting. some of those meetings are in person at the headquarters or the business office, and some of those are conference calls which are a really common tool that's used in today's business. so they learn some practical business skills.

[Josh Duttlinger, Project Manager, Hunt Consolidated, inc.]: Our senior leadership is obviously older, as they're senior leadership, so having young fresh eyes look at a problem that's five to 10 years away for us helps invigorate the company and bring new ideas.

[Hunter Hunt, CEO, Hunt Consolidated, inc.]: I think if you...if you present these students with a challenge or opportunity, you give them the proper guidance, and they will need guidance.

This is the first time many of these students have ever been in a real world work experience.

But if you give them the guidance and the support, you'll be amazed with the creativity and commitment that these students will turn to the...the project at hand.

[speaker at event]: It was also a 40 percent increase from 2015.

[Elizabeth Smith Program Manager, Hunt Consolidated inc.]: Our company has benefitted from the student perspective because it has allowed people to really start to think outside of the box.

The students come in and bring in a fresh new set of eyes on ideas that people may have let lull and students bring something in and people get excited about it again.

[Josh Duttlinger, Project Manager, Hunt Consolidated, inc.]: We view this as a first step into eventually hiring on a full-time employee.

We bring them in - a group eight to 10 - usually two to three students stand out. From that we select a leader for the next group for the following semester.

Hopefully, that leader eventually becomes an intern for us and at that point we...we know the student through and through and we shoot to hire them.

[Michael Bailey, mINiTERN faculty advisor, Professor of Mathematics Brookhaven Campus ]: The minitern program requires very little resources and time invested on behalf of the employer and so it acts as a pre-screen to their actual intern program, their full-time intern program.

there's no cost to businesses, the students aren't paid for this mini-internship, their payment is in experience.

[Hunter Hunt, CEO, Hunt Consolidated, inc.]: i think the minitern program is one of those really unique programs that takes a student very early in the process, exposes them to corporate America, exposes them to what it's like to have a real job, be part of a real team working on real projects to find solutions, and it opens their eyes up in a way that...that they can't fathom.

and it provides...it provides a growth opportunity they're never going to get in a classroom, and it's why we need more companies to take more students so that we can have more of an impact on Dallas.

[text on screen]: mINiTERN providing professional experience for community college students

[text on screen]: Produced by Media Services LeCroy Center, Dallas College

Dr. Jason Treadway

  • Director
  • Strategic Initiatives

Dallas College Faculty and Staff

Interested in becoming a team advisor? Contact us today to discuss opportunities.

Benefits include: 

  • Professional networking
  • Develop strong student relationships
  • Guide students toward their career goals