OHIO students, businesses see benefits from participation in Export Internship Program

Another example of the public-private partnerships encouraged by the namesake of the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service is giving students real-world experience in international trade.

In addition, Ohio University’s participation in the Ohio Export Internship Program (OEIP), administered by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), has proven to be immensely supportive to a wide range of manufacturers in the Buckeye State.

Overseen at Ohio University by Don Hackney, export assistance advisor for the Ohio Small Business Development Center, the program includes a three-hour weekly College of Business course in the spring semester followed by interns’ placement over the summer at companies wishing to expand their international footprint.

Hackney said the University works closely with ODOD’s international trade programs to target assistance to small and medium size companies. In the OEIP program, the manufacturers benefit by the state reimbursing half the cost of the interns’ salaries.

The spring course focuses more on hands-on experience versus theoretical learning. Students are assigned a project to develop export plans for local companies as part of their coursework, he said.

“Part of that is researching the best foreign markets for these companies’ products,” Hackney said.

Examples of recent projects from Ohio University students include an interesting variety of offerings -- wine, goat milk soap and strongman competition items.

How you enter a market -- whether it be with distributors, agents or direct-to-consumer transactions, is covered in the course, Hackney said. Logistics and compliance are big topics, and pricing, trademarks, financing, marketing, cultural issues and classification of products for Customs are also covered.

While all internships may not deal with every topic taught in the course, such as the classification numbers for products, the program covers a wide range of topics in order to best prepare students.

“We want to make sure they understand it, because it not only helps to understand tariffs and all those other hot topics right now, but to do research you need to know about those numbers because a lot of it is based on that same system,” Hackney said.  “We try to touch on the things that will be important for their internship.”

OHIO students learn from real-world experience

During the summer, interns are surveyed weekly and asked if they need assistance. Hackney visits each company with their interns early on and his direct involvement thereafter varies depending on the student and company.

Because it’s mainly smaller enterprises that are hosting, the interns often get to see how the whole company operates.

“You get to see the marketing side, the finance side, the logistics side and even HR and planning. Because it’s a small company, that’s the way it works. Everybody wears a lot of hats,” Hackney said.

Response to the program, currently offered at six universities in the state, has been overwhelmingly positive, including at OHIO since it joined several years ago, Hackney said. About half of the companies teaming with the universities are repeat participants, and a high percentage of students end up extending their internships or getting hired by their hosts.

“From the student side, I’ve had them come back to me and say ‘It’s really helpful having this on my resume. It’s a real meaningful experience,’” he said. “This is one of those programs that sets you apart.”

Image

OHIO student Ian Furgason wholeheartedly agrees.

A senior set to graduate next May with a double major in international business and supply chain management, Furgason took the course during his sophomore year and was placed in an internship with Nelsonville-based Rocky Brands, a manufacturer of boots and other items with a distribution center in Logan. He continued working with Hackney as a teaching assistant this year, and that experience helped him secure another internship this summer with Lubrizol in Wickliffe.

“The big reason I was able to get this internship was because of my experience in the export program at OHIO. It was one of the main talking points in my interview,” he said. “I’m very grateful for that class because it opened up more opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Furgason, who opted for a dual major after Hackney visited his business class to talk about OEIP, said his coursework included developing an export proposal for a Cincinnati-area company that makes sensors that go in hood units above stoves to regulate fan speed.

“We were helping them locate a potential country they would be interested in trying to sell their product in,” he said. “Then I was able to go into my internship. It was kind of cool to see how the classroom transitioned into working at the company.”

During his internship at Rocky Brands, Furgason helped the company track the progress of 40-foot containers on cargo ships to see if they were coming in on time, he said. He was even able to cut the bolts on a container he had tracked to ensure the product was OK, and work with truckers to ensure all of the documentation was proper.

Furgason’s positive experience is echoed by a number of OHIO students whose feedback is featured on the state’s OEIP website covering a wide spectrum of industries and experiences.

Image

Student interns are making a positive difference for businesses in the state

Zanesville-based Stewart-Glapat, a manufacturer of highly specialized conveyor systems, is among businesses that have hosted OEIP students and reported overwhelmingly positive results from their participation.

Stewart-Glapat is currently employing Joshua Russell, the third intern who joined the company for a summer through OEIP, said Chief Operating Officer David Stewart.

Russell’s job has included work on a marketing video to mark the 80th anniversary of the company, which counts among its numerous customers large Fortune 500 companies such as Walmart, PepsiCo and FedEx.

“The caliber of students we get through the program is exceptional,” Stewart said. “They are top-of-the-line, superstar students who are able to come in here and make a difference. We could not be happier with the outcomes we’ve had with this program.”

“We’re also looking at exporting. We’re very dominant here in our space here the United States but always looking for ways to grow the business internationally,” he added. “We’re so busy day-to-day trying to keep up with demand, exporting often gets lost in the shuffle. So, bringing in a fresh perspective, for someone to come in that has the skills and energy and wants to help and move the company forward – it’s been a tremendous fit.”

Stewart said the company is currently eying Australia as a potential market for its products based on input from a prior OEIP intern from Ohio State University – Katrina Whitmore.

“She identified Australia as a very promising market,” he said. “The Ohio Department of Development is working with us to reach out to potential partners in Australia.”

“So, to have a program like that available by the government is an unbelievable opportunity and we’re very happy to have been involved in that program over the last few years,” Stewart said.

OEIP is one of several programs available in Ohio to assist businesses in expanding their markets.

The Ohio Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Export Assistance Center website has information on how companies can access free, confidential advising along with an array of services and resources on topics such as international business planning, market research, export documentation, local product requirements and logistics.

The program is made possible by the Appalachian New Economy Workforce Partnership (ANEP). Administered through the Ohio Department of Higher Education and appropriated to Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, the ANEP supports a suite of business and economic development programs. Since 2001, ANEP has invested millions in economic development initiatives across the 32-county Appalachian region.