Venture Internship Prize (RVIP) Program
RVIP is designed to connect curious students with early-stage startups. RPI has many students who are interested in doing internships with startup companies. There are also many regional startups that would like to have RPI interns, but the startups generally do not have the funds to pay the interns. To fill the need for the students and to support RPI and regional startups, RPI Ventures and the Severino Center created the Rensselaer Venture Internship Prize (RVIP) program where the Severino Center provides funding for students to do internships with RPI-affiliated and regional startups. At the annual startup fair in the spring, students match with startups and then apply for summer internships. Students engage in intensive internships with selected campus-based or off-campus technology-based start-ups, gaining firsthand experience with the challenges typically faced by new ventures. In turn, participating start-ups gain the help of top-quality students with skills to complement their internal teams.
Applications will be evaluated based on the student’s commitment to entrepreneurship and the startup’s letter of support. Startups with an RPI affiliation and those within the Capital Region of New York will be given preference, although startups outside of the Capital Region and with no direct affiliation with RPI will also be considered. The program is open to RPI undergraduate and graduate students.
RPI Founder Fellowships
Are you interested in starting your own venture during the summer? RPI Founder Fellowships provide summer salary support to allow undergraduate students, graduate students, or faculty founders to focus on launching startups during the summer. Summer support is provided to allow student or faculty founders to focus on launching startups. Applications will be considered in the spring. The most competitive applications will be from would-be founders of early-stage technology-based scalable innovations with high potential for commercialization. The program is open to RPI undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty.
Applications will be evaluated based on the founder’s commitment to entrepreneurship and the potential impact (financial or societal) of the innovation.