This Program Pays You to Hire Tech and Life Science Interns to Keep Top Talent Working in Maryland
The Maryland Technology Internship Program (MTIP) was launched in August 2018. In under two years, the program has helped approximately 200 unique organizations across a variety of tech-related fields fund 310 paid internships in Maryland.
The program, which is administered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and funded by the State of Maryland, is a critical component to the BioHealth Capital Region’s (BHCR) workforce development efforts. Along with increasing access to capital, workforce development remains one of the region’s leading challenges, cited again and again at BHCR conferences and panels by entrepreneurs, thought leaders and talent executives.
MTIP can offer regional bioscience companies critical assistance with workforce development matters, offering employers reimbursement for up to 50% of an intern’s wages. Employers partnering with MTIP can recoup up to $3,000 annually per intern. Interns are an invaluable resource and the MTIP reimbursement program can be a high-impact growth accelerator for startups and growth-stage life science companies.
MTIP has a growing foothold in the BHCR’s life sciences industry. The program has helped fund a number of quality assurance, data analysis, product development, biomanufacturing and lab research interns at growth-stage companies.
“The health of all economies has to do with opportunity. For students enrolled in the Pathways in Technology Program (PTech), post-docs and even recent graduates, a successful internship can be the key to launching a successful career. Our program helps support the companies that create these opportunities, which are win-wins: The company secures needed help and builds its workforce pipeline, the intern gets valuable experience and the BHCR retains more of its homegrown talent. Seventy-five percent of the interns placed using our funding stay in the BHCR,” stated Annie Weinschenk, Assistant Director at MTIP.
“Christine Routzahn, director of the UMBC Career Center, who also directs MTIP, was instrumental in expanding the program with critical support from the State of Maryland, including Maryland State Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, and Governor Larry Hogan. One of our program’s main goals is to help retain top tech talent by increasing the number of paid internships offered across the region. The BioHealth Capital region is so versatile when it comes to the technology industry. MTIP’s goal is to keep our homegrown talent and their great ideas right here in Maryland,” Weinschenk added.
MTIP is focused broadly on the tech sector and can offer both interns and companies support beyond intern wage reimbursements. Weinschenk and the MTIP team have helped companies craft internship descriptions, evaluate funding opportunities and deliver training while also providing guidance on an as-needed basis to interns seeking advice.
“Starting an internship program is not easy. There’s the search, then onboarding and then they are with you for a short time before they move on to other opportunities, so maximizing the time you have with an intern is essential. Having paid internships available is a great benefit to the region and a valuable resource for companies to manage growth or a newly won large contract,” explained Weinschenk.
“MTIP offers companies the chance to build out a robust paid internship program to support growth while offsetting a significant amount of the cost,” she added.
While building an internship program requires some heavy lifting, applying for MTIP funding does not. The application process is a quick, easy four-step process for interested companies. (See information about the program and the funding application process on the MTIP website
“I am grateful to the MTIP team for putting on this program. This has enabled my company to entice bright students to work with us over several semesters. The students have gotten their names on publications and been exposed to the fun and stresses of working in a start-up medical device corporate environment. The company gets its energy and a head start on recruitment,” states Irving Weinberg, MD, Ph.D., and president of Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc.
Reza Seifabadi, Ph.D., and chief operating officer at PediaMetrix had this to say about MTIP: “Thanks to MTIP, we were able to hire an intern at a critical time to advance our R&D goals as they cover half of the salary of the intern. This program is a win for the state, the small business community and for the intern. Really glad that I was introduced to this program and we look forward to benefiting from it for years to come.”
“We want to be known as the go-to resource for building successful paid tech internship programs. I’m always out on the road meeting with companies to see how MTIP can help,” says Weinschenk. “MTIP seems well on its way to reaching this goal with 200 companies and over 300 interns having benefited from the program in its first two years.”
Applications for summer and fall 2020 are now available to eligible companies. MTIP accepts applications for funding on a rolling basis and they are reviewed bi-monthly.
To learn more about what MTIP has to offer, join one of its bi-weekly informational webinars (sign up here) or reach out to Assistant Director Annie Weinschenk directly at [email protected].
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Steve brings nearly twenty years of experience in marketing and content creation to the WorkForce Genetics team. He loves writing engaging content and working with partners, companies, and individuals to share their unique stories and showcase their work. Steve holds a BA in English from Providence College and an MA in American Literature from Montclair State University. He lives in Frederick, Maryland with his wife, two sons, and the family dog.
