- Why do companies participate in Enterprise Projects?
Some companies use Enterprise Projects as a source of talented, inexpensive labor to tackle projects for which they don’t have sufficient resources. The employers who find the greatest value, however, use the Enterprise Projects program as a way to find talented long-term employees. There’s no better way to interview a candidate than to have them work under your supervision for 10 weeks.
- How often does Neumont University run Enterprise Projects?
Enterprise Projects are offered year-round on a quarterly basis.
- What if my project will take longer than 10 weeks?
Most of the Enterprise Projects last multiple quarters. Ten weeks is a very short turnaround for an in-depth project and it is definitely acceptable to have a project last two, three or more quarters. Some of your team members will carry over quarter to quarter to continue working on your project and new members will join the team every ten weeks.
- Who owns the Enterprise Project work product?
All the intellectual property rights to work done in Enterprise Projects belong to the company sponsoring the project. All projects are backed by legal agreements outlining the intellectual property rights and specifying Non-Compete and non-disclosure clauses.
- What other companies have participated in Enterprise Projects?
As of Spring 2009, Neumont has run 152 projects with 45 different employers. The list of companies includes: ACS, CA, eBay, EDS, Fidelity Investments, IBM, United Health Care, LANDesk, Novell, Oracle, OSDL, Overstock.com, the State of Utah and others.
- How are the projects managed?
A Neumont University instructor oversees the actual course and acts as a liaison between the company and the students. Within the project team, a student will act as the project manager. The participating company will designate an internal employee to oversee the project as a project sponsor. This is not a full time job by any stretch; as our students are very proactive and capable, and are mentored and supported by Neumont faculty. The students will need somebody they can bounce ideas off of and get direction from. It is essential that the students have access to the company sponsor when required. The student project manager is responsible for keeping the instructor and the company sponsor up to date with progress, bottlenecks and schedules.
- What are some of the challenges?
The biggest challenge every quarter is keeping the students busy. Many companies, especially those new to the program, underestimate the student’s abilities and fail to challenge them sufficiently. These are not your typical college students; they are proactive, curious, motivated, and efficient with exception technical proficiency. We encourage companies to give them challenging work, and lots of it.
Another challenge is ensuring that your company is ready to work with the project team from day one. This is a college-level course and the students are paying tuition for the opportunity to work on these projects. Because of this, students may become frustrated when they are unable to begin their projects due to bottlenecks in security policies, access rights restrictions, or other unanticipated delays. Neumont staff will work closely with your organization prior to beginning a project to ensure that the students will be able to begin working on day one of the project.
- Whom should I contact to hire a graduate?
- When is the next Career Week?
Neumont hosts Career Week four times per year for registered Industry Partners. Register to participate today, and get more information about upcoming Career Week events on the Career Week information pages.
- How do I become an Enterprise Partner?
If you would like to discuss the potential of participating in Neumont Enterprise Program, contact Aaron Reed, Vice President of Academic Operations at 801-302-2884 or email our
University Relations Program.
- Do all students participate in Enterprise Projects?
Yes, this is a critical piece of Neumont’s program. Learn more about the specific projects happening at Neumont by visiting our
Enterprise Projects Gallery.
- Are students paid for participating in Enterprise Projects?
No. The primary goal of this program is to educate our students through hands-on learning. Involving student compensation in the program would negatively impact the academic integrity of the experience. However, many students who participate in Enterprise Projects end up taking part time work with those companies or accept permanent job offers after graduation.
- How does an Enterprise Project differ from an internship?
The difference is significant. First, interns are often used to perform menial tasks that have nothing to do with the student’s field of study. Enterprise Projects are designed to specifically target the skills a student is looking to develop. Second, the variety of project roles a student might fulfill are substantially different from an internship (they wouldn’t let an intern act as project manager, would they?). And finally, students guide the project. They are analyzing the problem, designing a solution, writing the code, and defining best practices.
- What are the costs associated with being an Enterprise Partner?
Each Enterprise Project is unique, as is every Industry Partnership. Contact
Aaron Reed, Associate Vice President of Employer Relations to discuss sponsorship costs associated with running an Enterprise Project at Neumont University.
- How do I sponsor an Enterprise Scholarship?
Scholarships are an excellent way to ensure the quality and diversity of graduate talent Neumont can provide. Potential scholarship sponsors can find more information on our
Scholarship Sponsors page.
