The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) is now inviting businesses to apply for their intern program. Each summer, the program hires and places highly qualified students in manufacturing or healthcare facilities to develop solutions for waste and energy problems.
MnTAP is an outreach and assistance program based at the University of Minnesota that helps Minnesota businesses develop and implement industry-tailored solutions that prevent pollution at the source, maximize efficient use of resources, and reduce energy use and costs to improve public health and the environment.
Since 1985, MnTAP has been coordinating an intern program that places highly qualified students in facilities for up to three months. MnTAP began offering the program as a way to affect change in businesses. The goal of the program is to provide benefits to businesses and students while building MnTAP’s knowledge base and extending our services to businesses.
Participating businesses receive, at low-cost, an intern who researches and provides solutions for pollution prevention and energy efficiency. These solutions are designed to be specific to the facility and reasonably feasible. Often, the savings realized from implementation far outweigh a company’s cost-share. A MnTAP intern in your facility can help you identify solutions to pollution prevention and energy efficiency projects that you and your staff don’t have the time to tackle. Companies that have participated have realized significant savings by implementing the intern’s recommendations.
Companies are expected to provide an on-site supervisor for the intern, and to contribute 10% of the total project cost ($2,500) as a cost-share.
Applications from companies interested in being provided with a MnTAP intern are due February 1, 2012. (MnTAP expects to begin accepting student applications to participate as interns on January 1, 2012.)
