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Acquiring Entrepreneurial Skills: The Nicell Summer Start-up Internship

Published: 26 October 2023

Equipping students with the skills that prepare them for life is a faculty priority. Dean Jim Nicell believed this and during his 10-year term as Dean, worked hard to offer students classroom and beyond-the-classroom experiences that would help them excel when they graduate. As a parting tribute to Jim, members of the Faculty Advancement Board and friends of the faculty have created a Summer Startup Internship in Jim’s name.

Since its inception during Covid in 2020, the Summer Startup Internship program has offered startup traineeships to McGill undergraduate students, who work closely with an early‐stage McGill-affiliated startup for 12 weeks during the summer. The program introduces students to the startup experience, as well as training and mentorship through McGill Engine.

The beauty of the program is that interns gain exposure to the chaotic and uncertain reality of innovation‐driven ventures, taking risks and challenging themselves to learn through failure. The startup ventures also benefit – they actively solicit Engine for student help.

Since 2020, over 480 students have applied for the limited number of internships that Engine is able to offer. We hope to increase the number of startup internships available.

The Nicell Summer Startup Internship is an endowment, and endowments grow. Software Engineering student, James Darby was its first recipient. Darby received funding as he worked his summer at Prefab Photonics, learning skills that will help him prepare for his career. (Prefab Photonics is a startup that was launched under the guidance of the Engine Centre.)

“The internship allowed me to work on cutting-edge machine learning models,” says Darby. “It also allowed me to invest in a better computer to develop software and train models, directly increasing my productivity. But the most important thing was that it made me feel more connected to the McGill community and its research efforts than before.”

Find out more about how you can contribute to the Jim Nicell Summer Startup Internship endowment by contacting alumni.engineering [at] mcgill.ca.


AcquĂ©rir des compĂ©tences entrepreneuriales : le stage de dĂ©marrage d’étĂ© Nicell 

Doter nos Ă©tudiants des compĂ©tences dont ils auront besoin dans leur vie professionnelle est une prioritĂ© de la FacultĂ©. Le doyen Jim Nicell y croyait beaucoup; durant son mandat de 10 ans, il s’est appliquĂ© Ă  faire bĂ©nĂ©ficier les Ă©tudiants d’expĂ©riences pĂ©dagogiques et extrascolaires pour les aider Ă  exceller une fois diplĂŽmĂ©s. En guise d’hommage Ă  Jim, des membres du Conseil d’avancement de la FacultĂ© et des amis de la FacultĂ© ont instaurĂ© en son nom Le stage de dĂ©marrage d’étĂ© Nicell.

Depuis sa crĂ©ation en 2020, durant la pandĂ©mie, le programme offre des stages de dĂ©marrage aux Ă©tudiants de premier cycle. Ceux-ci collaborent Ă©troitement avec une entreprise en dĂ©marrage affiliĂ©e Ă  McGill sur une pĂ©riode de 12 semaines pendant l’étĂ©. Le stage Nicell initie les Ă©tudiants Ă  la rĂ©alitĂ© du dĂ©marrage d’entreprise, et leur fournit formation et mentorat via le centre Engine de McGill.

La beautĂ© du programme rĂ©side dans le fait qu’il expose les stagiaires Ă  la qualitĂ© instable et imprĂ©visible des entreprises innovantes, Ă  prendre des risques et Ă  accepter d’apprendre des Ă©checs. Les entreprises en dĂ©marrage en bĂ©nĂ©ficient aussi : celles-ci sollicitent activement l’aide des Ă©tudiants par le biais du centre Engine.

Plus de 480 étudiants ont postulé depuis 2020 pour les quelques places de stage offertes par le centre Engine. Nous espérons pouvoir faire augmenter le nombre de stages en entreprise proposés.

Le stage de dĂ©marrage d’étĂ© Nicell fonctionne sur la base d’une dotation, qui est appelĂ©e Ă  se dĂ©velopper. James Darby, Ă©tudiant en gĂ©nie logiciel, en a Ă©tĂ© le premier bĂ©nĂ©ficiaire. James a reçu du financement lors de son stage d’étĂ© chez Prefab Photonics, oĂč il a acquis des compĂ©tences qui l’aideront dans sa prĂ©paration de carriĂšre. (Prefab Photonics est une jeune entreprise qui a Ă©tĂ© crĂ©Ă©e sous l’égide du centre Engine de McGill).

« Le stage m’a permis de travailler sur des modĂšles d’apprentissage automatique de pointe », explique James Darby. « Il m’a aussi donnĂ© l’occasion d’acquĂ©rir un meilleur ordinateur pour dĂ©velopper des logiciels et former des modĂšles, ce qui a immĂ©diatement accru ma productivitĂ©. Mais surtout, il m’a rapprochĂ© de la communautĂ© et des travaux de recherche de McGill. »

Pour en savoir plus sur les façons de contribuer Ă  la dotation du stage de dĂ©marrage d’étĂ© Jim Nicell, contactez alumni.engineering [at] mcgill.ca.

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