Transform Maryland
Summer 2021 Internship
June 14 - August 20
Visit go.umd.edu/TMDInternship
Applications due May 28, 2021
Program Partners:
● Enterprise Planning & Continuous Improvement | Division of IT
● Administrative Modernization Program | Office of the Provost
● University Career Center | Division of Student Affairs
Internship Overview
This paid internship offers a fully immersive consulting experience that affords undergraduate students the opportunity to engage with a real client, work in dynamic teams, learn advanced management consulting strategies, and apply critical thinking and solution design to real world cases, all while developing general professional acumen. The internship is focused on innovating real University of Maryland processes.
This project-based internship is sponsored by Division of Information Technology’s, Office of the Provost, and Division of Student Affairs. Students are placed in teams of 5-7 students with a pair of top-tier professional mentors. Each team will be presented with a current challenge facing the university and given a university administrator as a project client. You will spend the summer researching and benchmarking against other schools, analyzing and synthesizing results, and formulating actual, applicable recommendations for the client.
The internship culminates in a final case-competition like presentation, which for the last several terms has attracted the attention of members of the Provost's cabinet and initiated projects to begin to implement some of the recommendations from the students. Most students have made discussing their experience with Transform Maryland the cornerstone of their job interviews.
Even if you are not interested in consulting as your future job, the internship is designed for all students across campus to develop the critical thinking as well as creative and soft-skills needed to be successful in their careers. Students work in teams, self-manage, problem-solve, think critically, conduct interviews, and learn how to present relevant information to a target audience. They have difficult conversations and learn to navigate the needs of their client and manage inter-team differences.
Past Projects
Past teams have been tasked with improving the business processes and/or student experience at the University of Maryland. Examples of projects include:
- Improving the FAFSA Verification Process - recommendations on ways to simplify the mandatory verification process, thereby reducing barriers to students collecting the financial aid they need in order to attend the University of Maryland.
- On-Campus Emergency Financial Program - a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at coordinating financial relief programs on campus to better support students in financial crises.
- Short-Term Study Abroad Business Reengineering - a review of the current challenges in the short-term study abroad business model and recommendations on how to increase participation and rebrand the value-proposition.
What Will You Learn?
Students will be given formal and informal training on some of the most sought after skills, including critical thinking, problem analysis, interpersonal engagement, how to communicate effectively, and how to deliver information. Specific learning objectives include:
Students will be able to:
● operate effectively in a fast-paced professional environment
● apply critical thinking and problem solving frameworks
● collect, analyze, and communicate data
● use common analysis tools—PEST and stakeholder analysis, primary and secondary research, issue trees, root cause analysis, cost-benefit analysis, process landscape models, swimlanes—to understand and evaluate a process
● develop and maintain a productive team dynamic
● develop and maintain a positive client relationship
What is Expected of Students?
The Transform Maryland Summer Internship is a 10 week program, running June 14-August 20. Students will be placed on multidisciplinary teams of 5-7 students who will be managed by two professional staff. Participation requires a minimum 20-hour commitment per week. Students will weekly have team meetings, regularly meet with their clients and mentors, and have independent work to complete. The program requires:
● Ability to commit at least twenty (20) hours of work each week.
● Leadership experience and a passion for improving/innovating business processes.
● Hardworking, responsible, professional, and extremely agile.
Can I get Credit?
Students may be eligible for it to count as an internship requirement in their program of study. We will work with your academic department to provide the necessary materials.
Apply at: go.umd.edu/TMDInternship