Tech Collective, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and AICU Rhode Island partnered to welcome 86 business, government and academic professionals to The College Connection: Attracting Affordable Talent Via Internships in a Challenging Economy event on May 6. The keynote address and panel of students and employers focused on the benefits of internship hosting for companies and provided insight into how to build a successful internship program. Representatives from all 11 of Rhode Island’s higher education institutions were also on hand to connect with employers.

Richard Bottner, founder and president of Intern Bridge, was the morning’s Keynote Speaker, addressing a range of internship topics including the business case and benefits of hosting interns, strengthening the workforce pipeline, building work plans, compensation and internship legalities. Bottner also addressed the culture and characteristics of the millennial generation. He and the panelists stressed the importance of ensuring a strong personality match with the company’s culture as well developing a comprehensive internship program to benefit the professional development of both the company and the student.

Unofficial numbers estimate approximately 50% of bachelor degree students take on internships before graduation. With 60,000 undergraduate students throughout the state, “that’s a potential talent pool of 30,000 students for employers to access,” noted Daniel Egan, president of AICU Rhode Island and one of the event’s panelists. “Our goal as a community needs to be linking employers with this pool of students thereby taking advantage of the talent, fresh ideas, efficiency, diversity and increased retention rates that internships can provide.”

When asked if internship experiences are compelling students to remain in Rhode Island, panelist Tim Hebert, CEO of Atrion Networking Corporation, responded: “I believe they absolutely are. We are sitting on a mecca of economic prosperity that we allow to leave the state after graduation. We need to restructure our internship programs and retention opportunities to keep our students here – that’s a change we’ll be seeing much more of in coming years. Education and internships are the key to the future of our state.”

Bottner applauded the audience for coming together across industries and interests to invest in internship and economic advancement: “I’ve been to a lot of meetings where universities, employers and government are unwilling to work with each other. That’s why the collaboration you have here today is so huge. It’s day one of many months and years of continuing to embrace and build relationships.”

The College Connection was held in conjunction with Business Expo 2009 and sponsored by Ananke IT Solutions, Atrion Networking Corporation, Hasbro, Inc. and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.