Eight NMU students are currently serving their six-month internships in Hillsborough, Ore. where they are working on various projects such as software programming, product validation and Android development. The internship provides students an opportunity to get real-world experience in computer sciences with Intel, a Fortune 500 company.

Intel has been offering a summer internship for NMU students for the past few years, but this year was the first year that a winter internship was offered. The six-month internship is paid and some of the interns are receiving college credit.

Junior Bruce Olson, a computer science major, said he was first drawn to the internship when he heard about it from previous interns.

“I’m really glad to be part of a team and that someday soon the products I’ll be working on will end up on store shelves,” Olson said. “It’s exciting to be on the other side of the country, getting something other than just education. It’s good training for the real world.”

Another intern, junior, Kristina Tickler, (computer science major,) is receiving eight credits in computer science for the internship. Not only will she be working with hardware, but Intel has moved on to developing software and Android applications.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity and I’m glad to be able to take advantage of it,” Tickler said. “It provides experience before graduation and a name like Intel is a great résumé booster. I also get to make connections with people in this field, which will be useful after college.”

Jeff Horn, professor of computer sciences, acts as a liaison between NMU and Intel, helping with the coordination between Intel and the interns.

“There are so many benefits to this internship,” Horn said. “It provides experience, exposure to Intel hiring managers and academic credit, as well as pay comparable to a full-time starting salary. The Intel headquarters is very diverse, employing a global workforce.

“It provides students a great chance to see what they can do with their major as well as discovering what their careers will be like after college.”

Horn said Intel is a very forward-looking company and is always testing and developing new technology. Each time the interns return, they bring something back with them, such as the WiMAX at NMU.

“There’s a certain synergy between NMU and Intel and it’s great to be building a stronger relationship,” Horn said. “We’ve been doing summer internships for the past four years with two interns per year.

As the interns get further in their training, they will eventually be taking part in the actual tasks as real full-time employees.

“We had a pool of thirty applicants for our first ever winter internship and eight were accepted,” Horn said. “That’s a decent amount considering that students from major schools across the country get admitted into this as well but it would always be nice to see more applicants.”