Access Top Kansas College Talent at No Cost

A Micro-Internship is a short-term project that can typically be completed within 10-40 hours and is due within a few days to a few weeks. These projects require no on-boarding and can be completed by a college student with minimal instruction. These are important but low-risk tasks that aren’t the best use of your time.

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 find on-demand project support while simultaneously allowing you to engage and evaluate potential talent.

There is also a wide array of learn and earn opportunities for Kansas organizations and career seekers via the Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship, which supports apprenticeships across multiple industries.

Thanks to the generous support of the Kansas Department of Commerce, the first five Micro-Internship projects completed for a Kansas organization or entrepreneur by students currently enrolled in any of the seven Kansas public universities are provided at no cost (up to $500 per project).  Two of the five no-cost projects may be completed by students currently enrolled in a graduate program offered by any of the seven Kansas public universities.

An additional 200 Micro-Internship projects up to $500 each completed by students currently enrolled in any of the Kansas public community or technical colleges are also provided at no cost for Kansas organizations and entrepreneurs through the end of calendar year 2025 thanks to funding provided by the Strada Education Foundation. These and the other no cost projects provided by the Kansas Department of Commerce are limited to five per Kansas organization or entrepreneur while the funding lasts.

A $500 project typically implies between 20 and 25 hours of work by the student.

The no cost KMI projects will be available until the current funding is depleted or renewed.

The student receives their payment from Parker Dewey upon completion of your project through funding provided by the program sponsors.

If you have a longer project in mind, when posting your project you can adjust the hours and compensation based on your project's needs, and Parker Dewey will invoice you the difference.  

In short, it’s easy as Parker Dewey handles it all.  No HR burdens. No conversion fees. No questions about ownership or worries about confidentiality.

Employment: Micro-Interns are not your employees, contractors, interns, temps, or freelancers. Similar to working with a consulting firm or any other service provider, you are engaging Parker Dewey LLC to complete the assignment, and each individual you select is a contractor or employee of Parker Dewey. You can still directly interact with them as much or little as you would like, and always have the opportunity to hire them directly without any costs or fees.

Liability: We’re mission-driven and believe in the power of creating opportunities. That said, we take on all the liability. Not happy with the work product? We’ll give you a full refund or find an alternate Career Launcher. 

Work Product: All work product is owned by you. 

Confidentiality: While most projects involve public-facing information of a non-sensitive nature, both Parker Dewey and all Career Launchers sign strict NDAs to protect your information. In addition to the standard provisions, the students understand that they are risking their academic transcript or expulsion for any violation of confidentiality.

Background Checks: Given the short-term nature and structure of these assignments, we do not conduct background checks. While companies are always welcome to conduct a background check directly, the nature of the specific assignments and lack of a direct relationship with the individual who is selected has caused most organizations to defer the background check until after a Micro-Internship is completed and a student is offered a traditional internship or full-time role.

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 best Micro-Internships do not require hands-on management to be completed. Career Launchers on Parker Dewey have core skills and are highly motivated to exceed expectations. During the Micro-Internship, the project manager—whether a hiring manager, team lead, or another employee—can engage the student however is best including email, Zoom, etc.

The Kansas Micro-Internship (KMI) program supports the Kansas Board of Regents' “Building a Future” strategic plan and the Kansas Department of Commerce's aim to connect businesses, job seekers, educational institutions and training providers to ensure the state’s workforce is equipped to meet industry needs and to help create economic success for Kansas residents and businesses.

The Kansas Micro-Internship Program is a partnership between the Kansas Board of Regents, Kansas Department of Commerce, DeBruce Foundation, Strada Education Foundation and Parker Dewey. This program connects Kansas-based organizations with students attending Kansas 2 and 4-year public colleges/universities to complete short-term (20-25 hour) projects that solve real business challenges.

These projects support students' career exploration, expand pathways to economic growth, and allow your teams to increase productivity and student engagement.