CooNect: Macalester Project Network

Connect with students through short-term, career-focused projects.

The CooNect: Macalester Project Network connects Macalester students with alumni and friends of the college through short-term, project-based internships during January Term (J-term). These 3–4 week experiences give students the opportunity to use winter break to gain meaningful, hands-on work experience, develop career-related skills, and contribute to a company or organization.

Why Host a Project?

Hosting a CooNect project-based internship is a meaningful way to support a Macalester student while bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to your organization.

As a project host, you can:

• Support student career development by providing real-world experience.
• Share your expertise and help a student explore a potential career path.
• Gain fresh perspectives from a motivated Macalester student.
• Build connections with emerging talent and potentially develop a future talent pipeline.

What We’re Looking For

Projects should:

• Take place within the December 20, 2026–January 22, 2027 J-term window
• Last approximately 3–4 weeks and include a minimum of 50 hours
• Center on a specific project, assignment, or deliverable
• Be structured so a student can make meaningful progress and complete the project within the short timeframe
• Be paid or unpaid. Paid opportunities are encouraged because they make the experience accessible to more students.
• Take place in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format

Students will be required to register their experience for academic credit during January Term.

Examples

• What Could a Project-Based Internship Look Like?

  Projects can vary by organization and industry. Examples might include:

  • • Conducting market or industry research

  • • Developing a communications or social media plan

  • • Analyzing data and creating a report or presentation

  • • Supporting a research project

  • • Developing educational or outreach materials

  • • Creating or improving a website, database, or other digital resource

• What Makes a Good Project?

  A strong internship project has a clearly defined goal, specific deliverables, and an outcome the student can complete within 50 hours. Projects should allow students to apply their skills, learn something new, and produce something of value to your organization. Internship project proposal examples can be found here.

Timeline

October 12 – October 30, 2026	Submit your project. Career Exploration reviews proposals and posts approved opportunities.
November 2 – December 4, 2026	Review applications and interview students. Follow the application process outlined in your project posting.
December 4, 2026	Hiring Decision Deadline — Finalize your student selection
December 15, 2026	Student must register their projects for credit by this deadline.
December 20, 2026 – January 22, 2027	Students complete projects.
January 22, 2027	Complete final evaluation of your student’s experience by this deadline.

How to Submit a Proposed Internship Project

1. Review the internship project examples.
2. Submit your project proposal on this Google form (the form includes only one section so you may view the questions in advance).

Reach out to [email protected] with any questions!