The Start to Medidata’s Summer 2021 Internship Program

With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the opportunity to work from offices in person has become more possible as the world slowly returns to normalcy. Internships have been an integral part of college students’ future careers, offering enormous benefits for both themselves and the organization they are involved in. But, as we entered 2021, many companies continued to cancel internship programs and reduce job postings, ultimately cutting valued personnel. Incredibly, Medidata has continued to strive in finding talent across all nations for its 2021 summer internship program, which is joined by a diverse group of 37 interns including 17 men and 20 women, 65% of which identify as Black or Latino/Latina.

This year, the program is divided into two distinct groups geared toward the different stages of college students' career paths: Medidata Discovery for sophomores and juniors and Medidata Launch for rising seniors and recent graduates. Medidata also extended the usual 10-week program with two additional weeks for interns to experience the valuable culture, learning, and training it has to offer.

During the program, interns are thrust into tactically different yet cross-functional teams, working alongside other interns as well as managers, giving them the opportunity to explore their unique interests. After three and a half weeks, the interns have already passed many milestones. They’ve attended Executive Exposures with Jackie Kent and Joseph Schmidt to learn about their roles within the company, kickstarted the Innovation Lab, and are almost midway into their individual projects which will be presented at the end of the 12-week program during the Intern Showcase. The phrase “time flies” seems to apply more than ever this summer, but with approximately eight weeks remaining, the interns will continue by taking control of what they want their experience to be, and how they will execute it.

With the interns finding their stride as they approach new milestones in their roles, it felt appropriate to schedule tours at our New York, Boston, and New Jersey offices. Interns were able to experience a glimpse of day-to-day life in the office at Medidata working with full-time employees in beautiful glass-enclosed buildings and exploring nearby restaurants and cafés. As the world continues to navigate its return, Medidata has still been able to offer this year’s summer internship program the experience of normal life in the office and the opportunity for interns to contribute to work that truly has an impact on the company as a whole, ultimately setting up each and every intern for success.