Venture Match

Matching students to opportunities at the hottest MIT-connected ventures

The Venture Match Program connects MIT-connected ventures with MIT undergraduate students for internships during the Independent Activities Period (IAP) and Spring semester. It’s fast and easy for you to create a profile and list your internship opportunities.

 

Undergraduate students explore internship opportunities and apply on InnovationOne via the Student Registration link below. Ventures are notified when students apply to their posting and can easily download all application materials, making finding a great intern easy.

Best of all, there is no cost to startups to participate. MIT is funding 100 internships between the IAP and Spring semesters.

Program details:

  • Venture Eligibility. Ventures must be “MIT-connected”. This means a founder or key member of the executive staff is an MIT alumnus/a, faculty member, or staff member.
  • Over IAP and Spriong semester, eligible ventures may hire up to 3 eligible MIT-funded interns respectively.
  • To maximize applicants, ventures should post an IAP deadline between January 4th and 15th. Please remember IAP interns must complete 80 hours of work during the month of January. For Spring internships, we encourage ventures to post deadlines no earlier than mid-January.
  • Student Eligibility. Selected interns must be current undergraduate students at MIT and must not have been awarded the $1,900 Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELO) funding award at any point previously through any ELO program (including non-venture match programs).
  • During IAP, interns must work a minimum for 80 hours between January 1, 2021 and January 31, 2021 and will be funded $1,900 from MITii.
  • During Spring semester, interns must also work a minimum of 80 hours between the first and last day of classes in February and May 2021, and will be funded $1,900 from MITii.
  • Students: Make sure your mailing address is up-to-date in Atlas to receive your funding award!Interested? Register above. Wait 48 hours for approval, and, once approved, log in to the InnovationOne Portal using the link in your verified email inbox.

Ventures: Interested? Use the Venture Registration link below to register your venture and post opportunities. Wait 48 hours for approval, and, once approved, log in to the InnovationOne Portal using the link in your verified email inbox.

STUDENT
REGISTRATION

Click the
“MIT Students”
button at InnovationOne

VENTURE
REGISTRATION

Click the
“MIT Ventures”
button at InnovationOne


FAQs

Q: Are there any internship parameters?
A: All internship opportunities must be hands-on/applied, have rigorous content, dedicated supervision, meaningful intensity, and involve reflection/evaluation.

Q: Does my startup qualify?
A: Your venture must be an MIT-connected venture in order to qualify. We define MIT-connected as those ventures that have an MIT faculty, staff, or alumni founder.

Q: My venture is MIT-connected, but is headquartered, or looking for student interns to work outside of the U.S.. How do I participate?
A: International internships are managed through MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). Learn more and contact a MISTI program manager to learn how you can host an MIT student here.

Q: How many opportunities can I post?
A: You can submit multiple opportunities to the platform.

Q: How do I know when people have applied?
A: After you set up your account in InnovationOne, you’ll receive a link to a dashboard view, where you can see a list of applicants to each position. You’ll receive an automatic notification each time a student applies.

Q: How many students can I hire?
A: Each venture can hire up to three student interns.

Q: Who pays the student?
A: MIT will cover the cost of the internship, up to $1900 total. Students will be paid directly by MIT.

Q: Can I pay the student more than what they are getting from MIT?
A: Yes, although MIT is unable to facilitate these payments; students must be paid directly by the venture.

Q: How many total hours does the internship need to be? How many hours per week?
A: The internship must be between 80 and 140 hours total, 5-10 hours per week.

Q: Is this opportunity open to graduate students?
A: At this time, this opportunity is only available to undergraduates.

Q: In order for the student to qualify for the stipend, does the internship match need to be made through this platform?
A: Yes.

Q: For students and ventures participating in the Venture Match program, who owns any generated IP?
A: Students looking for IP guidance should refer to OVC’s chart on Guiding Principles Regarding Student Intellectual Property Rights (https://ovc.mit.edu/guiding-principles-regarding-student-intellectual-property-rights/). Issues of IP ownership are always fact-specific and this chart is not intended to address all scenarios. Note, for activities like UROPs Off campus and Non-MIT Hackathons, IP is usually owned by the third party, not the student (but could be negotiated). Generally, students with questions about a specific IP ownership issue should contact tlo-ipia@mit.edu. However, TLO does not review any IP agreements/terms between students and companies concerning externships/internships. Students seeking legal resources on specific agreements/terms may utilize the BU/MIT Law Clinic (https://innovationone.mit.edu/resource/boston-university-school-of-law-clinics-at-mit/). Students and ventures are both strongly encouraged to clarify any IP issues in advance of beginning an internship. MIT does not provide legal services to ventures, and ventures are encouraged to contact their legal counsel on matters of IP and employment.

Still have questions? get in touch: iventures@mit.edu