Reviewed by: Sharron Swain
One program connects students + companies across the state—how to get involved
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The Culverhouse College of Business at The University of Alabama is making an impact in areas all over Alabama. One way they’re doing so is through the Alabama Productivity Center (APC), an organization that utilizes student talent to help small businesses solve big problems in their operations. We talked to the executive director and a current intern to learn more.
The APC got its start when students + faculty worked together to save Alabama jobs
The Alabama Productivity Center, a nonprofit organization, is an outcome of a 1983 joint venture of The University of Alabama and General Motors to save a Tuscaloosa GM plant from closing.
The impactful experience of joining forces with university faculty and students to save Alabama jobs led to the establishment of APC, which is still serving the same mission today.
Interns are matched with the right company for their skills
APC’s team goes out to meet with clients, learns what problems they are having, then comes up with a solution of how to tackle those. From there, students are recruited from all different majors and are each assigned to a specific company to do just that over the course of a semester.
Once a selection is made, the APC staff is there to help the student throughout the whole project.
“The impact these students have on their companies is incredible, whether it be a reduction in costs, decreased time in a production line, etc. If they’re able to cut off 5-10 seconds of a sequence, that can translate to some big dollars for the company over time.”
Alan Hill, Executive Director, APC
Take a look at a few of the companies APC interns have worked for:
- Motherson
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing
- Austal
- Precision Coil & Rotor
- Steris
Want to gain valuable experience and get a head start before graduating? Apply to intern with APC today.
Hear from a current intern
The role of interns for APC is to help increase productivity within the company they are assigned. Aysia Young is currently interning with APC and has already learned so much from her company.
She says the experience has given her knowledge she’ll take with her into her career.
“My favorite part about my internship is actually getting real word experiences. I was able to use my training towards real problems and make a change.
I’m all for college courses and learning materials in that form, but actually going through an experience for a company was a different level.”
Aysia Young, Student Intern, APC
Companies are seeing big results
Not only is the program changing the game for students, it’s making a significant impact on the companies they work for. Here’s how:
- Discover new hidden talent
- Reduce employee workload
- Ease of use with technology
- Increase productivity & retention
- New perspectives on organizational issues
“The APC Intern Program provided a level of support that would be expected from many professional services. The interns were able to come in, take ownership of key projects and follow through without holding their hand every step of the way. Their work resulted in significant cost savings and cost avoidance.”
Gray Shipley and Lloyd Cooper, Movi Medical
Sign up to hire an APC intern for your company.
APC is setting students up for future success
According to the program’s director Alan Hill, this internship is preparing students to take on real world problems with real companies upon graduating college.
“Our job is to give students the best opportunities, or the best bang for their buck, for the effort they’re putting in because they deserve that. If they have three or four opportunities waiting for them when they graduate, I feel like we’ve done our part.
We take the great students that are coming out of these programs and then apply them in this model, that I believe gives them a little bit of an advantage when they do join the workforce.”
Alan Hill, Executive Director, APC
Apply to intern with APC now OR learn more about hiring APC interns for your company.
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