This opportunity is one of several Burch Field Research Seminars offered at select universities across the world. It houses students in California’s Silicon Valley as they complete the coursework required for an entrepreneurship minor and do an internship with one of the numerous corporations that operate in Silicon Valley.
“So the idea is to get students out there and expose them to that whole ecosystem of innovation,” James Leloudis, associate dean for Honors Carolina, said.
Leloudis taught a summer semester course in 2015 that gave students a similar opportunity in Silicon Valley and worked to get it established as a full spring semester option ever since.
During their stay, students attend lectures for the entrepreneurship minor while also interning in positions geared toward their academic interest. The semester ends with the students completing business ventures in teams that fit their focus.
Sophomore computer science major Conrad Ma is currently on the trip. Ma said his interest lies in the intersection of computer science with the business world, so his internship — working with GoDaddy on integrating Facebook Messenger into business processes — fits in well.
“On the company visits, we get to see the employees there and ask them questions, like, ‘What do you like best about Facebook?’” Ma said. “The transparency is a big thing.”
Buck Goldstein, university entrepreneur in residence, sees this transparency as a primary benefit of the program. He, along with Leloudis, helped form the foundation of the program at the University.
“It seemed like an overwhelming value proposition,” Goldstein said. “You get the whole minor done at one time and you get an internship somewhere awesomely cool in Silicon Valley.”
