Bay Area startups check this out: NORWEGIAN SUMMER INTERNS
from The Norwegian School of Entrepreneurship aka Gründerskolen
This Summer 38 Norwegian graduate students will be working as interns in Bay Area startups while attending a class in innovation and entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley. We are looking for Bay Area startups/companies to mentor and work with the Norwegian interns this summer, and you can sign up HERE.
The Norwegian School of Entrepreneurship is a collaboration between:
The overall objective is to give the students a taste of entrepreneurship, to help them better understand local business culture, and to stimulate ideas that can be of value to them in the future. And of course to inspire them to be entrepreneurs and start their own businesses.
The program is part of the students' education and they receive credits equal to one semester from the University of Oslo upon completion. The course consists of three parts: the first part takes place in Norway in the spring. Next they complete a 10 week summer course at UC Berkeley while getting their startup experience through internships in the Bay Area. The third part consists of reflection sessions throughout the summer as well as a final reflection report related to the learning outcome of their internships and networking.
If you have questions please contact Alexander Bergo
Quotes from participating companies:
“Brilliant interns from Norway, for free. One of the smartest things an SF-based startup can do
”
“Our intern completely exceeded expectations! His dedication, work ethic and willingness to take initiative was extremely impressive! We would love to participate in this program again next year!”
“Our interns are incredibly intelligent and thoughtful women, excited to dive in and I was sad to see them go at the end of the summer!”
“We’re appreciative of your including us in this program. Every single student has been a pleasure to work with. ”
“Energetic, hard working, humble and whip-smart, that’s how I’d describe my interns!”
“They become true team members. Year after year, saying “goodbye” has become no easier. ”
“NSE interns were motivated, hardworking, and a positive force in our company.”
“I could probably just build a company with all those fine people over the summer myself”
“Our fourth summer in, we continue to be impressed not only by the calibre of the program’s candidates, but with the dedication with which the interns that join us immerse themselves in our work and workplace environment. ”
“We couldn’t ask for harder working interns who were genuinely interested in learning as much as possible.”
“The interns of the NSE program served a key role in getting our products ready to deliver on time and on spec to one of our most important customers. ”
WHAT
The program runs for 10 weeks from early June to mid-August
J-1 visas are arranged by UCB
The students have full medical coverage
Classes at UCB every Friday
The students live at International House
No obligations to the startup if you don't find a match
No cost for the startup other than paying for the students’ local transportation
Max. 2 students per startup
About us
The Norwegian School of Entrepreneurship aka Gründerskolen, started in 1999 when 6 IT-students from the University of Oslo participated in the program's pilot in San Francisco. Since then the program has grown rapidly and is averaging 150 students annually at several destinations. Destinations in 2020 are San Francisco, Houston, Boston, and Toronto. The alumni network has more than 1500 alumni, by far the biggest network of its kind in Norway.
In 2007 Gründerskolen received first prize for "Best quality in higher education" by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and in 2006 the program received a prize for the "Best learning environment" at the University of Oslo.
Students
All the students participating in the program have a Bachelor’s Degree, and there is a stringent selection process in Norway. Gründerskolen is open to students from all academic disciplines, but the program focuses on high-tech startups, and many of the work placements are with companies in the IT, biotech or other technology sectors. However, as the intention is specifically to learn about companies in a startup situation, it is not necessary that the students have a technical background.