Collaborating with Intel and charity: water, the for-credit program will reach over one million undergrads this back-to-campus season

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — To bridge the early-career talent gap, Intel, a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing and global nonprofit, charity: water are collaborating with Podium Education (Podium), the leading experiential education company to provide a new model of early-career work experience that will reach one million undergraduate students this back-to-campus season. Through Podium’s flagship program, The Global Tech Experience (GTX), the collaboration will scale across more than 50 universities nationwide and offer in-demand content in areas like data, coding and digital marketing, re-imagining the traditional internship by co-designing authentic projects and delivering them at scale.

The programs which debuted to 1,500 students over the summer feature a focus on actual business challenges including Intel’s sustainability efforts and charity: water’s goal to activate new audiences. Using both modern learning design and high-quality production, students are placed into context as a team member of Intel or charity: water. The students learn about the organizational goals directly from leadership in a series of stakeholder meetings and are then tasked with solving a real-world challenge. Each project is created from the perspective of a new intern, creating an authentic work experience for students but at a scale never before possible. Participating students build in-demand skills in areas like Python and Tableau, earn credits and receive a digital certification.

“Through our work with The Global Tech Experience, we are providing students with unique opportunities to gain valuable work experience,” said Michael Campbell, General Manager, Education Division, Intel. “This authentic project and offering gives undergraduates a chance to work on real-world challenges, and Intel is helping students build essential skills that will open doors to exciting career opportunities.”

Tyler Riewer, Creative Director of charity: water adds, “We are excited to empower the next generation of changemakers through The Global Tech Experience and activate them in our mission to bring clean and safe drinking water to every person around the globe. The experiences and skills students receive will equip them to make an impact not just in our work, but in hundreds of other great organizations pursuing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Gallup recently reported only 4 in 10 undergrads complete an internship, with the rate of participation even lower among first-generation college students, at 27 percent. The lack of access to internships fueled the development of this new, more scalable model that enables students to get invaluable experience with organizations such as Intel. GTX is a fully online project-based experience that enables undergraduates from all backgrounds and majors to explore in-demand fields while working alongside peers from more than 50 countries. This fall, the program will offer its online internship-like program to higher education institutions including top-tier research and elite universities, public land grants, regional state and private colleges nationwide.

According to Garret Westlake, Associate Vice Provost for Innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University, “Designing opportunities for students to gain experience as an embedded part of the undergraduate experience is important to our university. Experiential programs like what Intel and Podium Education have designed will reshape students’ career trajectory and earning potential.”

There are over 14 million undergrads enrolled in college in the U.S. and approximately 5.6 million will not have relevant experience when they enter the workforce. The GTX program offers direct access to real work experiences with renowned companies like Intel, for all college students regardless of zip code or socioeconomic status. This new model of skill and experience building at scale will close the gap between college and employment prospects for undergraduates, worldwide.

“The research underscores that early career experiences need to evolve and we can’t limit ourselves to traditional internships that are not accessible or scalable,” said Chris Parrish, Co-Founder and President of Partnerships of Podium Education. “We’re thrilled to work with our university partners on this new model to ensure all undergraduate students gain invaluable early career experience with iconic organizations like Intel and charity: water.”

“Before this experience, I didn’t really understand how data analytics applied in the real world. But after the Intel sustainability project, I see that data analysis and working in complex working groups can have a huge influence on corporate decision-making and my own ability to make an impact on the world,” said Carlos Felipe Garcia Escobar, Sophomore at the University of South Florida, GTX student. “It showed me that I could work at companies that I respect, and gave me a perspective, that I wouldn’t have had, about the opportunities and roles that I can pursue.”

For more information about The Global Tech Experience with Intel, charity: water and Podium’s other partners, please visit:  https://podiumeducation.com/gtx

About Podium Education
Founded in 2019, Podium Education is the leading experiential education company. Podium supercharges the undergraduate degree through real-world, project-based experiences that bridge the gap from college to career. Over 50 of the largest and most well-recognized US universities have partnered with Podium to make The Global Tech Experience, Podium’s flagship program, available to one million undergraduate students. The Global Tech Experience enables students from all backgrounds and majors explore the in-demand fields of digital marketing, coding, and data analytics through co-designed projects with top organizations like Intel, charity: water, and more. Visit https://podiumeducation.com/gtx and LinkedIn to learn more.

SOURCE Podium Education