Skip to main content

NextFlex News – July 2020 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends,

As the summer of 2020 flashes by, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about the fantastic interns we’ve brought on this year. I’ve always been a believer in hosting interns and giving them the chance to put hands on to real work. We thought that during the pandemic that it wouldn’t be possible to have interns, but this group has been extremely creative about how to get work done remotely. From time to time, we do bring interns into the Hub to work on specific projects, but the point is that we’re making it work. Staff prepare well in advance for the interns so that their time is productive and helpful to NextFlex, and a time of learning for them.

We have 15 interns this summer, from Universities, Community Colleges, and high school, that represent a broad range of interests and abilities as indicated below with the areas where they are putting their skills to work:

School Major Department
San Diego State University Mechanical Engineering  Engineering
De Anza College CNC R&D Machinist Engineering
UC Berkeley Microbial Biology Engineering
UCLA Mathematics of Computation Engineering
UCLA Computer Science Engineering
UC Santa Cruz Computer Science Engineering
De Anza College Industrial Design Fab
UC Berkeley Data Science / Economics IT
San Jose State University Hospitality, Tourism & Event Mgmt. Marketing
San Jose State University Public Relations / Public Policy Marketing
UC San Diego International Business Marketing
San Jose State University Business Mgmt. / IT Strategic Programs
San Jose State University Business Mgmt. Strategic Programs
Willow Glen High School Interest in Biochemistry Workforce Development
Willow Glen High School Undecided Workforce Development

Several of our interns are back for a second and third summer, which we interpret as a great compliment as we really enjoy hearing their stories and seeing them grow over time. In fact, we hired one of our first interns after he graduated from Cal Poly, so you never know how things are going to turn out. Despite the odds, we are delighted that we can continue the tradition of bringing in talented young people; these students are truly the highlight of our summer.

It wouldn’t be summer without mentioning Innovation Days, which is going virtual this year. With 75 speakers, panels on FHE technology, workforce development, and women, a keynote by Dr. Robert Irie of DoD, project updates, networking and more, it promises to be a fantastic three days August 4-6. Members can register here, and nonmembers may register here. Join us!

Sincerely,

Malcolm J. Thompson,
Executive Director