Meet Cengage Group’s Education Technology Interns
The start of summertime brings warmer days and shorter nights. It’s also a time when interns join companies across the U.S. to gain valuable job experience. According to LinkedIn, 35% of entry-level jobs require relevant work experience and internships can be a great way to learn while doing.
According to our 2022 Graduate Employability Report, 65% of recent degree and non-degree graduates have or plan to have an internship. And learning valuable skills and getting work experience aren't the only reasons an internship might help you land a full-time job. Interning can also help you get a foot in the door for future work. The majority of employers (63%) hire their interns “most” or “all of the time” for full-time positions.
This summer, Cengage Group is proud to welcome interns to our Marketing, Strategy, Product, Graphic Design and Cybersecurity teams. "At Cengage group, we're committed to ensuring that the experience is a great learning opportunity. Interning is a great way to get exposure to the way our business, and the edtech industry, operates,” says Ryan B., Manager, Talent Acquisition Operations.
To help celebrate this year’s National Intern Day on July 28, we spoke with five of our summer interns. Read on to learn more about them and their experiences working at Cengage Group.
Making a Difference for Learners
Erin R., Graphic Designer Intern, is going into her sophomore year at Virginia Commonwealth University. She says that she applied for an internship with us because “members of my family, my peers and I have all used Cengage Group products throughout our education journeys. I knew that working here, I would be making a difference and providing more opportunities for people to learn.”
Erin says that she has really enjoyed working on Milady. “It’s been so rewarding to influence branding . . . Having the freedom to use my creativity has helped me gain confidence in my abilities and working in a professional environment has taught me so many new skills that I never learned in school.” She added that the greatest lesson she has learned is “time management and organization. An integral part of what keeps me focused and on top of my tasks was developing a routine that I can easily follow every day.”
Outsmarting Cybercriminals
Alan F., Technology Intern, recently graduated from Southern New Hampshire University where he studied Information Technologies with a concentration in Cybersecurity. He has completed several years of independent study, countless hours of vulnerability research and penetration testing, but says he pursued an internship at Cengage Group because he was ready to see where the “rubber meets the road. I was eager to gain experience protecting organizational assets on a larger scale than my own home lab.”
Alan adds, “The greatest lesson I have learned so far, is that cybersecurity is an iterative process. While we revel in stories of fantastic cyber-heists, or cutting-edge defense-in-depth architectures, the most important aspect of the system is the end user.” He went on to share that, “I completed my undergraduate degree online, and education has significantly improved my life. It is a great privilege to be part of this educational organization and competent team, working to promulgate the ethos of education for others who wish to do the same.”
Making Educational Resources Accessible for All
Vincent P., Cengage Academic Strategy Intern, is currently a student at the University of Pittsburgh where he majors in Economics and Political Science. He says, “what excited me most about this internship was the idea that my work would have a direct impact not only on the company, but the education technology industry as a whole. Efforts to digitize and make educational resources more accessible for all students serve as the compass that guides this organization. Being part of a team that is dedicated to being a catalyst for change is both humbling and enlivening; it is ultimately what lead to my decision to join the team.”
He added that, “my experience has taught me that getting to know your coworkers beyond work is one of the most valuable parts of any corporate experience. The career and life advice I have gotten from my colleagues ranging from top-level executives to emerging analysts has been one of my favorite parts of this internship.”
Using Data Insights to Grow the Business
Hamed K., Technology Intern, is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston College. Hamed has a background in computer science and has always been concerned with the technical side of a project. “One of my purposes of interning with Cengage Group was to get familiar with the business side of projects and to learn how the business can benefit from insights extracted from data. Working on the technology team has allowed me to work with brilliant data scientists at Cengage Group, who help me apply my skills to real-world business problems.”
Hamed shared that the goal of a current project he is working on is to “optimize the conversation between the sales representative and the customer to maximize the possibility of enrolling. We use natural language processing models to extract insightful features from 25 million calls. I am very excited to learn different technical skills in this project and curious to find an interpretable relationship between a conversation and the enrollment of a customer.”
“I take pride in knowing that the analytical work I am doing is helping to grow the business. In education technology, this growth is a win-win for both the company and customers: high-quality educational products will result in more educated customers. My project will contribute to a better understanding of customers' needs, which is highly valuable as we are a customer-centric organization.”
Having a Positive Impact on Students
Sarah E., Marketing Intern, is a rising junior at Duquesne University where she is majoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and minoring in Data Analytics. She says, “I was initially drawn to Cengage Group because I admire its tech-forward growth ambitions and innovative student-focused solutions. After conducting further research and going through the interview process, I knew that this would be the right fit for me as I admire and align with the company’s inclusive culture and values.”
Sarah added that “I wanted my work to have a positive impact. In my current role I have the opportunity to identify innovative ways to inform and engage students with global issues and ultimately encourage students to recruit Cengage Group’s resources to make global changes in response.”
Since starting her internship, Sarah says that she has learned “new techniques to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of campaigns through key data points and dashboards. I have also gained endless experience engaging in discussions from planning content strategies to analyzing campaign data.” She adds, “I am especially passionate about the relationship between campaign actions, content choices, and lead generation.”
Turning an Internship Into a Full-Time Job
Emma H., Corporate Communications Coordinator, started out her career as one of our summer interns, while she was completing her master's degree at High Point University. She says “having an internship was a great way to get my foot in the door and gain hands-on field experience. I shadowed my manger closely and watched how she sourced content and managed our social channels. At the end of my internship, I was offered a full-time position and today I am responsible for our social program. It's been really rewarding to watch the content that I source and draft make such a positive impact on our overall social presence.”
“I'm grateful that the communications team took a chance on me, showed me the ropes and gave me the freedom to use my creativity and develop my skills.” Emma adds that “I enjoy working for a company that strives to make a positive impact, that has an inclusive culture, and prioritizes work-life balance. Since joining the corporate world, I have learned that it is important to work in an environment where you feel comfortable to try new things and where it’s okay to make mistakes – that’s how you grow and discover what makes you feel fulfilled.”
Stay Tuned for Future Internship Opportunities at Cengage Group
At Cengage Group, we help millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education. No matter how, where, when or why someone wants to learn, we support them with quality content and technology. If you or someone you know is interested in a summer edtech internship with Cengage Group, check back in late March/early April. You can also find a full list of currently available positions, including technology jobs, on our careers page.
This content was originally posted as part of an intern takeover on our LinkedIn page. To see more, follow us on LinkedIn.