New internship opportunity for International Business majors

Finlandia BBA students majoring or minoring in International Business now have an opportunity for a summer internship through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s new International Trade and Development Internship program. The program matches highly motivated students to companies seeking assistance in developing their export sales. The students will work for small- to medium-sized Michigan companies that are interested in or are currently exporting. Students meeting the requirements are shared with a pool of companies that applied to host summer interns. Together, companies and interns determine the internship start date, duration, compensation, and schedule. Companies independently interview and hire students best suited for their businesses.

Typical duties for the student interns will include:

• Research to identify and enter new and emerging markets
• Assist with implementing the company’s strategic export plan
• Communicate with local, state, and national trade assistance agencies to gather resources
• Conduct follow-up with potential overseas partners and customers
• Share findings and recommendations to management via reports and presentations

Once students are hired in the spring, companies and students will meet with training facilitators to learn the basics of exporting and to establish a workplan for executing the company’s export goals over the course of the summer. Students then join regular meetings with training facilitators on export topics as well as mentoring sessions throughout the course of the summer internship. Through this paid internship, students will work up to 40 hours per week. Finlandia students will be eligible to apply for positions beginning in the summer of 2023.  The application period will begin in the fall of 2022.

For more information contact kevin.manninen@finlandia.edu.