Non-profit continues to cultivate Maryland’s next generation of manufacturing talent with its most successful internship program to date
Columbia, Md. (June 21, 2021) – The Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MD MEP) recently kicked off its sixth-annual Summer Manufacturing Internship Program, which supports Maryland manufacturers with the cost of hiring, onboarding and training summer interns. This year’s program is MD MEP’s most successful to date, matching 28 rising college juniors, seniors, and graduate students with work placement inside 12 manufacturers across the state.
The Summer Manufacturing Internship Program is a key initiative in MD MEP’s efforts to cultivate Maryland’s next generation of manufacturing talent. As host of the program, MD MEP will connect the interns and the sponsor companies throughout the summer, beginning with the virtual kickoff event held June 9 and ending with a final presentation on August 4. Each intern will present about their work within their manufacturing facility, allowing all the students to learn from each other’s experiences, and be exposed to other manufacturers across the state. MD MEP, through Maryland’s Department of Labor EARN Program, offers a $1,000 reimbursement per intern to support wages paid by each participating manufacturer.
“We are extremely proud of how our Manufacturing Internship Program has grown in popularity each summer, as it demonstrates our success in raising awareness and creating excitement around manufacturing as a career,” said Kerry Wells, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Programs, MD MEP. “This summer, our interns will be contributing to everything from engineering and programming to project management, design and product development to marketing. We really want each student to leave the program with a broader view of Maryland’s manufacturing industry and the array of fulfilling career paths it offers.”
Beyond providing the interns with invaluable work experience, the program also helps local manufacturers with one of their most pressing challenges – building a skilled workforce. The 12 manufacturers participating in this year’s program are: Aidar Health, Caldwell Manufacturing, C-Care, Direct Dimensions, EFI Group, Hardwire, Longeviti, Mahlet Consulting, Miltec UV, Pompeian, Strouse, Zero Point Therapeutics.
“As a small biotech company manufacturing therapeutics for infectious diseases, the MD MEP Manufacturing Internship Program has served a number of purposes. It has allowed us to expose young budding scientists to the real nuts and bolts of drug development and manufacturing. The program also provides economic support at a time when we need it to meet our goals but lastly, it gives us a chance to have more team members to help us further execute our task of manufacturing our drug and filing our application with the FDA,” said Joseph Amprey, M.D., Ph.D., CEO, Zero Point Five Therapeutics. “All I can say is even as a CEO of a biotech company, I wish I could have had the experience that we are providing to our summer interns all because of this program. “
“Direct Dimensions is excited and proud to be partnering with MD MEP to help develop area students into our next generation of workers for Maryland area manufacturing related businesses,” said Michael Rafael, CEO and President of Direct Dimensions. “Our intern this summer, Charlie, an engineering student at the University of Maryland College Park, is making an exciting impact on our team and has contributed extensively to our wide variety of 3D projects. I have no doubt Charlie is gaining valuable experience and exposure to the real worlds of engineering and manufacturing.” To learn more about the MD MEP Summer Manufacturing Internship Program, please visit https://mdmep.org/internship-program/ or contact Kerry Wells at kwells@mdmep.org.
