CIS Internships

Software Development Internships
CIS 4555

Classroom learning is only the first step in preparing students for careers in Information Technology (IT). All CS/CIS Majors completed senior projects where they work in teams to complete actual IT projects for area organizations. The next step for students is to complete a software development internship where they spend time working for outside organizations. After graduating our alumni follow a wide range of career paths.

Students often complete these internships over the summer or by working part time during the school year. Students may choose internships in Duluth or the Twin Cities or their home town. Some also choose to complete internships out of state. Most of the internships are paid positions

We have developed long standirelationshipsips with many regional companies who look forward to our student interns. If you are looking for an internship, check out our Internship Opportunities with links to many of the companies with internships and full-time jobs.

The internships are as diverse as our students. Here are some highlights:

• Julia Traun at the Minnesota Zoo
• Janell Bice at the Mayo Clinic
• Melissa Huber at Minnesota Life
• Melissa Wieber at the City of Duluth
• Kate Jansen at St. Mary's Duluth Clinic
• Jennifer Dobbs at Rainy Lake Lodge
• Glenn Johnson at Maurice
• Jesse Porter at Mountain Systems

For more details about the internship requirements visit the CIS 4555 Internship homepage.

Julia Traun worked at the Minnesota Zoo as an Information Systems Intern. At the Zoo, she created an animal note taking application (Minnesota Animal Records System or MARS) for animal keepers using Microsoft Access. Julia worked with users throughout the design process and spent time observing animal keepers and animals. She thought this was a great project because she was able to turn the Systems Analysis and Design class into reality.

Janell Bice had a summer internship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The clinic wanted her to re-design the HBA Web site by reformatting the look of the site and using a different programming language. She accomplished this and also created tools for the users of the web site. Looking back, Janell said, "this internship was the best learning experience I could have had." She learned how to solve language problems on her own by using the Internet as a resource. Because of Janell's resourcefulness, she was offered a job and now works at the Mayo Clinic!

Melissa Huber worked as a Programmer/Analyst Intern for Minnesota Life Office Systems in St. Paul, MN. The main project she worked on was creating a database for electronic file transfer from partner to partner. The database tracks all information that is included in a file transfer to and from MNLife. The project was created using Microsoft Access and Visual Basic. Melissa had to create everything from scratch! Melissa's internship at MNLife was definitely worthwhile - Human Resources held intern get-togethers where interns would spend days at the Science Museum, Valleyfair, playing splat ball and doing other various activities. They also held all day seminars for interns where speakers from the company talked about MNLife and job opportunities.

Melissa Wieber accepted an internship as a Computer Operator/PC Help Desk Technician at Duluth City Hall. They serve over 500 employees including Duluth Water and Gas, Spirit Mountain, the DECC, the Airport, the Sewer Department, the Zoo and the Police and Fire Departments. The duties in her job description were to maintain a mainframe computer (ES/900), make sure users had service, update files/make backups, and give employees training on software.

St. Mary's Duluth Clinic Health System needed a summer intern in their IT Department. Kate Jansen took the position to fulfill the internship requirement at Scholastica. Her duties were to identify updates needed to credentialing databases and work with IT to evaluate and implement programs. She also wrote instruction manuals for three credentialing database applications. A surprising addition to her workload was training staff on updates and manuals. As an intern she did not expect this and really enjoyed the further responsibility.

Rainy Lake Lodge in International Falls, MN would not be the most obvious choice for a CIS internship; however, it proved to be a gratifying experience for Jennifer Dobbs. She was in charge of maintaining their computer system. This included installing updates for QuickBooks and Guest Tracker programs and training employees on how to use those programs as well as other business documents created in Excel. Another task was to develop and revise daily and monthly spreadsheets. She also designed a brochure and web page for the Lodge. This internship confirmed the importance of computer skills needed in today's business environment, even a small business like the Rainy Lake Lodge.

Glenn Johnson was a programmer intern at Maurice's. He developed programs using Oracle, Unix Scripts, and C++. A major part of programming is testing applications and the efficiency of code; at Maurice's this is accomplished using peer code reviews. During Glenn's internship, he was forced to work through a weekend to get a program completed by deadline. The head of the Systems and Programming Department told Glenn he had saved the company between $60,000 and $80,000 by completing the work on time. This experience taught Glenn how crucial the role of a programmer can be in the processing of business data.

Jesse Porter was a summer intern at Mountain Systems, Inc. branch office in International Falls, MN. Jesse's job focused on implementation of software at new sites and up-keep of software at existing sites. At this internship, he learned more programming skills, sharpened his technical support abilities, and learned new skills that will help him in a future career. Jesse coded in Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 and Visual Basic Applications within Microsoft Excel. When Jesse's internship was finished he commented on learning new skills, not just in programming, but also in office maintenance, software implementation, technical support, and software management.