Developing AI and other technology skills opens new doors for students and recent graduates. According to 2024 data from PwC, jobs requiring AI skills can pay wages over 25% higher than other jobs. However, college curricula are still catching up with the evolving needs of tech roles, leaving some students without the necessary skills when they graduate. To help STEM students acquire these skills, programs like Fund II Foundation’s internXL are connecting qualified, entry-level talent with tech leaders for internship, professional development and mentorship opportunities.
In June 2024, internXL launched a partnership with Focus Your Ideas (FYI), an AI-powered platform co-founded by artist and entrepreneur will.i.am and tech innovator Sunil Reddy, to connect students with purpose-driven tech and provide them with exposure to AI and engineering. Ahead, we discuss how this partnership will help and empower STEM students and share some insights into the importance of creating these opportunities for students from communities that often lack resources.
Empowering Students With AI
Exposure to AI platforms like FYI sets students up for success and empowers them to make a lasting difference in their careers. Thanks to the new partnership between internXL and FYI, internXL students can utilize FYI’s app to collaborate, share ideas and work on creative projects in the tech space. Students also have exclusive access to mentorship opportunities from leading experts in the industry and can participate in various initiatives and programs that will offer practical skills, training and career opportunities.
Combined with internXL’s diverse network, FYI offers a new avenue for students with creative aspirations. As generative AI transforms industries, many experience the “fear of becoming obsolete,” a phenomenon that affects over one-fifth of US workers according to a 2023 Gallup poll. This solution-oriented partnership addresses those fears by empowering students from communities that often lack access to opportunities and resources to upskill with AI and land jobs requiring these abilities.
The Importance of Creating Internship and Mentorship Opportunities
The founding director and President of Fund II Foundation, Robert F. Smith, is no stranger to the power of generative AI. He also understands how internships like internXL and the mentorship opportunities that FYI can provide can create pathways to success, especially for students in communities that traditionally lack resources.
Smith secured an internship with Bell Labs as a high school student, even though it was a program for college students. This role would become a pivotal part of his early career development, connecting him with one of his first mentors, Vic Hauser. Through his work under Hauser at Bell Labs, Smith discovered the joy of “figuring things out.”
In this fireside chat with Harold L. Martin Sr., Ph.D., Chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Smith shares his thoughts on opening up the aperture of opportunity for communities through mentorship:
Today, Smith supports the efforts of internXL and its partnership with FYI. “Through this partnership, we want every young person with the drive, talent and commitment to have exposure to career opportunities that could change their life — just like my first internship experience did for me,” Smith said. “Together, we will prepare students for in-demand fields and empower them to lead in our growing economy.”
Follow Smith on LinkedIn to learn more about the power of internships and mentorship.
