Many organizations shuttered their intern programs due to COVID-19 this year, but not Alexion. The company maintained its plans to welcome the 2020 class of interns by quickly pivoting to a virtual program that promises to be as engaging, educational and rewarding as an in-office experience. Adding to the challenge was insuring our international virtual internship program spans several EU countries — Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Germany and France – was designed with even greater flexibility to accommodate the requirements of Europe’s various education systems.

As you know, 2020 has been a different sort of year.

When it came time to finalize the summer internship program, Intel’s Law & Policy team faced a decision: cancel or go virtual?

Given the importance of this program for the team’s goal to build out a robust network of exceptional diverse talent, organizers decided to hold a virtual summer program (motivated in part by the virtual initiative led by Sandra Rivera, Executive VP and Intel Chief People Officer).

By Michele Robinson-Pontbriand | Director Corporate Social Responsibility

I have always valued the work and outside perspective that university interns bring into Keysight, and especially enjoy exposing tomorrow’s leaders to the role environmental sustainability, social impact and ethical governance can play in their future work. Truth be told, I always learn something new by engaging with interns too! This year was no different.

Due to COVID-19, Keysight moved to remote-only summer internships for the first time. While this posed challenges from a managerial perspective, there was concern about the impact this change would have on the quality of intern work, as well as their ability to fully benefit from it. However, even with its challenges, I can confidently say that it was still a win:win opportunity for both Keysight and our summer interns.

For example, I had the honor of bringing Madison Wickett — an International Affairs and Modern Languages student from Georgia Institute of Technology — into Keysight as my corporate social responsibility (CSR) summer intern. While she originally was slated to sit next to me at the Keysight offices in Colorado Springs, CO, she ended up working remotely from Michigan. My initial concerns about work quality with a remote intern went right out the window as I recognized how efficient her online communications and independent work capabilities were. In addition, it seems she also benefited from this internship, even having some unique experiences that she can take with her into future job roles.

To understand the intern experience in this unique COVID-19 summer, I asked Madison to pen a blog post about her time with us to share with others. Below is what she wrote. I am so thankful for the learnings from this summer’s interns and being able to maintain that company/intern win:win, and won’t hesitate to consider future remote internships if needed! Have a read …

This post was authored by Carl Hubbard an HR Undergraduate Program intern.

It’s hard to believe that just eight months ago, from my little apartment in Florence, Italy, I was clicking through the electronic paperwork for the offer I had just received from Cisco. I was going to be an incoming intern for the HR Undergraduate Program (HRUP) during the Summer 2020 season – and I could not have been more excited.