Expand Your Organization's Reach Across Indiana

The IEDC Micro-Internship Program connects Indiana employers with local, early-career talent through short-term, paid projects. These Micro-Internships serve as a powerful recruiting tool, allowing companies to engage prospective candidates with hands-on work. This is your opportunity to evaluate potential future hires in a low-risk setting, ensuring you attract the best talent and build your hiring pipeline for long-term success.

These 20-hour projects are fully funded by the IEDC, meaning there is no cost to employers to participate.

Key advantages for employers:

Access talent statewide: Engage with driven college students and recent graduates from Indiana’s colleges.
Enhance employer brand: Increase your organization’s visibility on campuses statewide and build your reputation as an employer of choice for Indiana’s early-career talent.
Evaluate potential hires: Micro-Internships offer a low-risk way to assess a candidate’s skills, work ethic, and cultural fit before making a long-term hiring commitment.
Build your hiring pipeline: Use these projects to identify and nurture relationships with the next generation of Indiana professionals, keeping your talent pipeline strong.

Who's eligible to participate?

Any company or organization with a site in Indiana is eligible to participate in the IEDC Micro-Internship Program. This program is ideal for employers who want to strategically recruit and evaluate potential future hires.

This program is open to all current students and recent graduates from Indiana’s colleges and universities.

Example Micro-Internships

Content Creation

Get a customized 1,200-1,600 word article/blog that fits your brand style and is optimized for your website and marketing channels.

Skills demonstrated: creativity, attention to detail, effective communication.

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Data Clean Up

Connect with a student to clean up a dataset by removing duplicates, updating records, and ensuring consistency.

Skills demonstrated: problem-solving, attention to detail, time management.

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Job Specification Review

A student will review your existing job specifications or new roles and will research job descriptions used by top companies and provide actionable insights.

Skills demonstrated: creativity, critical thinking, communication.

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KPI and Trends Report

Recruit a student to prepare a report highlighting key KPIs and trends.

Skills demonstrated: information synthesis, strategic thinking, data interpretation.

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SEO Support

Hire a student analyze your website's SEO performance, recommend improvements based on best practices and the latest trends, and assist in implementing these strategies.

Skills demonstrated: strategic thinking, time management, attention to detail.

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User Experience Testing

Bring on a student to troubleshoot user experience issues and propose solutions.

Skills demonstrated: communication, attention to detail, analytical mindset.

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Email Marketing Campaign

Enlist a student to craft a captivating email marketing campaign of sequential emails to boost customer engagement and promote an upcoming initiative or product..

Skills demonstrated: effective communication, creativity, initiative.

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Custom Project

Have a project in mind that's not listed? Create your own custom project.

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I know that I am getting bright, intellectually curious, and motivated talent. I also find it personally fulfilling to give back to my school in the form of mentorship and capability-building in a live work setting. It's a rare opportunity to create "wins" for my company, the school, the students, and myself!

Keagan Russo,

Sr VP of Strategy & Business Development,

Brightwell Payments

While we were focused on just getting some help on a project, we quickly realized that the student was incredible, and ultimately hired her as a summer intern. We saw her work ethic and skills, and got an inside track on hiring her.

Adam Hecktman,

Director of Technology & Civic Innovation

Microsoft

I like that there's no commitment. I posted a project to see who would apply, and now I have some amazing college students and recent graduates helping me.

David Faulk,

Head of Employee Success,

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is a Micro-Internship?

The IEDC Micro-Internship Program, funded by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), covers all costs, including payment to the student. Employers do not incur any expenses, as the IEDC funds the entire project fee of $444.44 for the 20 hour project. Of this fee, 90% goes directly to the intern. There are no additional obligations or fees, even if the relationship leads to an internship or full-time role.

Q. What is the cost?

The fees for projects hosted through this program are fully covered by the IEDC once your project is approved. There is no cost to the employer at any stage of the process.

Q. Who's eligible for this program?

Employers: The program is available to companies that have operations in Indiana. This means that any organization participating in the program must have operations in Indiana. (Note: Companies do not need to be headquartered in Indiana to participate.)

Students: The program is open to students and recent graduates of all Indiana post-secondary institutions.

Q. Does this replace traditional internship programs?

Micro-Internships are not meant to replace traditional internship programs but rather complement and even supplement them. Due to their short-term nature, Micro-Internships can be used year-round to engage and evaluate potential talent.

Q. Are Micro-Internships on-site or remote?

Micro-Internships can be either on-site or virtual, depending on the specific requirements of the project. We typically suggest remote, as this provides more flexibility and accessibility.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation Micro-Internship Program