Managing a summer intern program in a large corporation

Summary form only given. A summer intern program can benefit both the interns and the company offering the program. A summer internship is more than just a summer job. It is a development opportunity and a chance for the student and the company to assess a possible longer-term relationship. It is important that both the students and company management recognize this. The summer intern program at Boeing Wichita began as an engineering program. It has since expanded to include other functions and organizations. Three Boeing business entities, commercial, defense and service groups, have operations at the Wichita site. All three use a common summer intern program. A team with representatives from all three entities, named the University Student Development Team (USDT) administers the program. The team also includes some recent former interns who are now employees. In this respect, the team consists of both long term Boeing employees with a variety of company experience and relatively new employees who have had the intern experience and are close in age to the next set of interns. A summer intern program is a way to recruit talented students to fill critical positions within the company. It provides the students with a development opportunity as well as a summer job. It gives both the student and the company an opportunity to assess each other before making a long-term commitment