Entrepreneurship@CornellInternship Program
Sample Projects
Small Restaurant Management - All facets including food prep and inventory:
One student set up and managed a separate takeout facility for a restaurant, where duties ranged from preparing food to tracking expenses. Another developed new product and marketing ideas for a restaurant, and another managed a team of servers.
Database Design - Centralization of multiple databases, mailing lists:
One company had students construct a listing of clients, their products, personal and professional information, mailing addresses, etc.
Software Evaluation - Software testing, installation:
Students have been asked to set up computer systems to perform specific functions for the company, such as databases. This included researching and purchasing the correct software for the task and installing the software.
Marketing - Economic and industrial trends, strategy design, corporate consumer analysis, competitor analysis, product research, promotional ideas:
One student conducted research on potential expansion sites, potential competition, potential products and product lines and potential promotional efforts. Another developed promotional material for an industry expo.
Communications – Managing various office communication avenues:
One student manned the switchboard and fax, offering product support to customers. Another developed a training program for customers and walked them through the program over the phone.
Operations Research - Data analysis, cost/trend analysis, company growth, employee efficiency, customer diversity:
One student’s internship included work validating the company’s pricing matrices, and analyzing service call trends and cost effectiveness for a company dealing in sales/repair. Another student investigated the company’s “green” policy, compared to others, and made recommendations for change.
Office Organization - Desktop publications, paperwork, filing, mailings, inventory control and adjustment:
Students have revamped and redesigned mailings for better public relations. Others have done typical office duties of filing, mailing, answering the telephone, etc.
Equity Research - Portfolio analysis:
A student worked for a brokerage assisting in equity research and doing analysis on client portfolios, etc.
Accounting - Cost efficiency, bookkeeping, payroll, budgeting:
Working for a real estate company, a student participated in many aspects of the business, including cost analysis and determination of refinancing options based on the assessments of people’s loans.
Laboratory assistance – Run experiments in a laboratory:
A student conducted basic research for a company launching a new product. Another helped run tests on a prototype, allowing the company to move forward with its development..
Legal – An intern did legal research as a company considered entering into a license to commercialize some Cornell technology.