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Internship Opportunities

Plug and Play Tech Center as you may have already read has a community of over 110 startups, which means there are always plenty of opportunities for students with technical or business background to get an internship and exposure to exciting projects. There are various ways to get those internships, at the moment however we are looking to hire an internal recruiter so it would be easier to communicate with the startups. Another way is to do a Plug and Play Tech Center internship, which is structured in such a way that an intern gets to know the startups in the building and integrates into the ones they like most. More information in regards to the internship is in the descriptions below. We accept interns of all ranges from undergraduate students to graduate students.


Internship Program
Overall Objectives
  1. Hire 10 interns from various universities and know the start up technology company ecosystem within their university.
  2. Expose the interns to the technology industry and entrepreneurship and promote Plug and Play as the premier location in the Silicon Valley.
Success Metrics
  1. Plug and Play has 10 ambassadors representing us in various universities.
  2. University association events done at Plug and Play. Plug and Play is a stop for university tours in the Silicon Valley.
  3. 10 new tenants a year at Plug and Play from the universities.
The Process

The Internship Program will employ a 3-step process consisting of the following stages:

  1. University Research Stage (1 to 2 week assignment)
    1. Basic information of the university focusing on the business/MBA and engineering schools.
    2. If present, incubation facilities for start up technology companies in the campus, or near (within 10 miles) of the university.
    3. Research the top 5 technology companies coming out of the university. Do a fact sheet and brief history of the companies.
      1. Top 5 influential people in the Silicon Valley (VCs, CEOs, Engineers). Do a brief bio of each individual.
      2. Top 5 influential people or associations in the university community instrumental in creating successful technology companies (Professors, Deans). Do a brief bio for each individual.
      3. Meet and interview the founders of these companies for their success stories.
    4. Find out the alumni association office in Northern California or Silicon Valley.
      1. Organizational structure; leadership structure
      2. Introduce Plug and Play
      3. Visit and tour Plug and Play
      4. Get schedule of events
      5. Promote Plug and Play; share with the event content
    5. Research the top 5 student clubs and associations in the university
      1. Know the Persian, Indian, Chinese, European organizations; leadership structure; events calendar
      2. Know the entrepreneurial and technology development organizations; leadership structure; events calendar
      3. Know the professors/mentors/advisors of each organization
      4. Introduce Plug and Play
  2. Plug and Play Division Work (1 to 3-months assignment) The first week of the program they would be exposed to IT, Real Estate, and Events and depending on knowledge/interest level opportunity to intern with Amidzad. After the first week study all of the companies inside the building for a week. During the same week the objective of these activities is to identify 10 companies of interest and interview with them for an opportunity to work for them.
    1. Join one division of Plug and Play – real estate, IT, events
    2. Research and prepare case studies of successful technology companies in the Silicon Valley. What made them successful?
      1. Google, Yahoo!, Ebay, Paypal, YouTube
      2. Melodis, Mywaves
    3. Meet and know the activities of various start ups in the building
    4. Work 50% with Plug and Play and 50% with the start up company, or a 100% with the startup depending on circumstances or requirements of the startup.
  3. Plug and Play Ambassadorship (1 year). If the intern does an exceptional job with the program, Plug and Play will assign the intern a year long assignment to be the champion of Plug and Play in his/her university.
    1. Represent Plug and Play in various school events (ex. Job fairs)
    2. Attend business plan competitions in behalf of Plug and Play
    3. Choose best entrepreneurs and start up technology companies in the university
    4. Introduce 10 companies to Plug and Play for real estate presence in the Silicon Valley. Have at least 1 company out of a university coming to tour Plug and Play Tech Center a month.
    5. Introduce 10 companies to Amidzad and the Investment Community in the Silicon Valley
    6. Have Plug and Play listed and known as a top of mind resource for Entrepreneurs and Startups as a link on a website of Career Center, Advancement Office, Alumni Office, Entrepreneurship Societies and Deans of Business and Engineering Schools
    7. Get to know at least 3 entrepreneurial professors in both business and engineering departments maintain a relationship and have them come visit Plug and Play while in the area.

In order for all of this work to be valid and payable an intern is required to report to the assigned staff every day with a Daily Activity Report. Every Friday an intern is required to provide the actual research work put together in a coherent report. In order to get paid, the ambassador is required to put together a monthly report with a list of highlights and achievements. (Components: how many events attended; meetings and with whom; identified companies for funding or real estate and have one of the BRMs contact the leads; how many people visited Plug and Play).


Y-Generation Internship Camp
Overall Objectives:
  1. Hire up to 10 interns from high school or their freshman year in college possessing excellent grades, leadership qualities, and exceptional interpersonal skills.
  2. Expose the interns to the technology success stories and ecosystem – start up companies, VC, etc.

Timing: 1 to 2 weeks, renewable. Extend to 1 year if chosen as an “ambassador”.

The Process:
  1. Identify the top 10 sites they use for various purposes including, but not limited to: (Examples – Google, MySpace, Facebook, etc.)
    1. Video
    2. Music
    3. Gaming
    4. Search
    5. School work
    6. Email
    7. Social networking
    8. Shopping
      1. Others
  2. Do an analysis of these sites:
    1. Background and brief description of the site, including its historical highlights, location, management, and investors. Do an in-depth research on the founders of the company.
    2. When did you start using the site? How did you find out about it? What do you mainly use it for?
    3. Why do you like using the site? How much time do you spend on the site per day, per week?
    4. What do you think are the hottest features of the site? What features need improvements?
    5. Where do you think the site will be, or evolve to, in 1 to 5 years?
  3. Work with Plug and Play Technology Center:
    1. Prepare and submit daily reports
    2. Attend a minimum of 2 morning meetings and prepare the minutes of the meeting
    3. Attend at least 2 start up presentations and prepare a report on the start ups
    4. Attend at least 2 events (internal or external) and prepare a report on each event
  4. Work with the Start Up Technology Companies:
    1. Meet the CEOs of at least 5 start up companies located at Plug and Play Technology Center
    2. Interview with them and try to get an internship position with one of these start up companies
  5. Ambassadorship: (available for university students)
    1. If you complete an exceptional job, you may be hired by Plug and Play as an Ambassador for a year long assignment to be the champion of Plug and Play at your university.
    2. Attend business plan competitions in behalf of Plug and Play
    3. Choose best entrepreneurs and start up technology companies in the university
    4. Introduce 10 companies to Plug and Play for real estate presence in the Silicon Valley
    5. Introduce 10 companies to Amidzad and the Investment Community in the Silicon Valley
    6. Continue to work at Plug and Play for 5 to 10 days per year

Please contact our University relationship managers for details.
Olga Grigoryeva, Business Relationship Manager
Blerina Dhimo, Business Development Associate