Businesses Sought For University of New Hampshire Whittemore School Entrepreneurial Internship Program

Contact: Lori Wright
603-862-0574
UNH Media Relations

Aug. 23, 2005



DURHAM, N.H. – The UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics is seeking area businesses to participate in its Internship in Entrepreneurial and Management Practice, which teams up graduating seniors studying entrepreneurial venture creation with leading businesses throughout the region.

Students work 8 to 10 hours a week for the fall semester as part of their class requirements, which also include completion of a group consulting project with a nonprofit organization, development of a group start-up concept, analysis of a news article about high technology entrepreneurship, and participation in class lectures that will feature guest speakers on such topics as entrepreneurship, the New Hampshire economy, and the private equity and venture capital markets.

The course was created in 2000 by Jeff Sohl, professor of decisions sciences and director of the Center for Venture Research, and Ross Gittell, James R. Carter Professor and professor of management.

“What makes this internship different than most is that many companies are start-ups that ask our students to do some extremely sophisticated and significant projects. One of our students interned as the controller of a three-person company,” Sohl said. “The really hard-core experience they get with a start-up is directly transferable to larger companies that need employees to solve problems in an innovative manner.”

Each student formally interviews with participating companies, which select their interns based on the needs and abilities of the student. “These companies get access to high-quality and highly motivated students at the Whittemore School who are most interested in working for entrepreneurial ventures. The students have taken course work in business and are motivated to learn from the businesses with which they intern. The companies get to work with the students to help their companies grow and many are well positioned to employ the students after they graduate,” Gittell said.

More than ever before, internships are considered a critical component to an undergraduate business degree. “Work experience and business contacts are the keys for college graduates to get their first professional job. And the internship course provides both for our students,” Gittell said.


The fall 2005 program begins Aug. 29. Companies interested in participating in the internship program should contact Laura Hill at the Center for Venture Research at 603-862-3341 or laura.hill@unh.edu.