The study, which was conducted through “live” internship programs through 14 academic terms, also applied a unique virtual program management model. ZU’s initiative removes three specific barriers for employers to create successful internships:

• Time: Companies can significantly boost workplace productivity by putting students to work. A single, qualified manager can gain 225 full 8-hour workdays in a calendar year
  
• Space: A virtual program proves that companies needn’t have office space or incur onsite technology costs to manage interns effectively.
  
• Ability: The most critical barrier now removed involves a complete system, called Intern Toolkit™, that ZU developed for employers to create, manage and maintain highly effective internship programs.
  

The study was led by Matthew Zinman, president of Z University.org, who developed the virtual internship model, personally managed the student intern participants, and integrated into Intern Toolkit the practical systems and insights he gained through the program experience.

“A common misconception is that organizations and individuals don’t have the time to run an internship program,” Zinman explains. “What employers and managers need to realize is that they don’t have the time not to have interns. The students are highly capable of contributing all kinds of business value. And, when well-managed, the amount of time that interns contribute yields far more productivity.”

Using ZU’s program management tools with the virtual model, Zinman consistently managed four interns at an average of 15 hours per week over the course of all three academic terms, each of which included a minimum of 12 weeks per semester. He applied a maximum average of 10 hours per week to run the program, including initial recruiting and project planning, active intern management and training, ongoing performance metrics, and general administration. The total productivity yield, which includes Zinman’s management time, averaged approximately 1,800 work hours per year. When divided by an eight-hour work day, an intern manager can gain a minimum of 225 full days on their annual productivity calendar. This calculation does not factor the manager’s ability to apply their time and skills more effectively to achieve higher level tasks.

“Simply put, interns can help a company do more. All employers need to do is make an organization commitment to an internship system and have supervisors reprioritize some of their time to oversee students and get projects off the proverbial backburner,” Zinman explains. “Examples range from supporting marketing efforts and operational needs to gathering business intelligence and augmenting work for clients and partners. Students also possess knowledge and skills that employees may not, including technology expertise, research methodologies, and applied classroom learning of any career-specific capabilities.

“Small- to mid-size employers can especially benefit from adding student productivity,” Zinman notes. “However, these businesses typically lack the HR personnel and other resources to structure an internship program the right way. We’ve developed Intern Toolkit to remove that barrier and give employers everything needed to have and manage an internship program most easily and effectively. We are working to encourage and enable both businesses and students to open the world of opportunity that internships create.”