Ohio Wesleyan University’s Career Connection is accelerating opportunities for students through a new Innovation Internship Program with Columbus-based Rev1 Ventures.
“Even in this time of uncertainty, OWU students will be able to participate in a powerful internship program with entrepreneurs around Central Ohio,” said Megan Ellis, Career Connection’s executive director, “all while they take part in professional and personal development.”
The program, Ellis said, is open to all Ohio Wesleyan students, and its overarching goal is to help those selected for internships to forge pathways to permanent jobs.
“This is exciting,” said Ellis, a 2005 OWU alumna. “Ohio Wesleyan is only one of two universities (along with The Ohio State University) to be an Innovation Internship Program partner. The program demands exactly the skills Ohio Wesleyan provides – the ability to think creatively, work collaboratively, and communicate effectively in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.”
In announcing the Innovation Internship Partnership, Rev1 CEO Tom Walker said: “It is vitally important now more than ever that businesses plan and prepare to grow and that college students and young professionals continue to have career connections into the innovation economy. This program offers startups and students the opportunity to work together to drive business growth while fostering the next generation of business leaders in Columbus through hands-on experience.”
Described as a “startup studio,” Rev1 combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate. The company aligns innovators and founders with corporate and research partners to help entrepreneurs build successful companies. It currently has $100 million in capital under management, and it has helped launch more than 150 startups, invested in more than 300 companies, and supported over 70 successful exits.
Rev1 is launching the Innovation Internship Program with grant support from the Ohio Third Frontier, a partner-supported initiative to bring students and startups together to create meaningful opportunities for businesses and young professionals in Central Ohio.
To boost opportunities, Walker said, Rev1 is reimbursing participating companies for up to two-thirds of their interns’ salaries (up to $8,000 per intern) and helping them to manage the placement, hiring, and onboarding process.
In addition, he said, Rev1 is providing training support for the interns in the program, including connecting them to the local startup and innovation community for relationship and long-term career-building.
“We’re fortunate to have university partners come to the table,” Walker said in Rev1’s announcement. “Ohio Wesleyan University and The Ohio State University have put financial and in-kind resources to work so Rev1 can offer this training and support. They’re also developing pathways to directly engage their student population to connect students with startup opportunities.”
OWU’s Ellis also credits university alumni – Chip Holcombe, Class of 1982, director of investor relations for One Columbus, and longtime entrepreneur David Miller, Class of 1954 – with helping, respectively, to get Ohio Wesleyan involved in the new program and financially supporting the involvement of OWU students.
“Our alumni are a vital part of the Career Connection,” Ellis said, “and I am grateful to Chip, David, and all of my fellow Bishops who help to create opportunities for students.”
Learn more about the OWU Career Connection at www.owu.edu/careers and more about the Rev1 Innovation Internship Program at www.rev1ventures.com/interns.
