YSU to get $573K for internships in advanced manufacturing.

Staff report

youngstowN

Youngstown State University will receive $573,300 for student internships in advanced manufacturing.

It’s one of the awards to college and universities announced Thursday by the Ohio Board of Regents.

The state is investing $11 million with matching dollars from employers throughout the state such as Honda, Procter & Gamble, Owens Corning and First Energy.

Recipients of the funds — designed to award business and education partners that enhance learning opportunities for students in Ohio through co-ops and internships — have been announced, contingent upon approval by the State of Ohio Controlling Board in January.

The grants are part of Gov. John Kasich’s work-force development strategies to align Ohio’s higher education curriculum with skills that are in demand by Ohio’s businesses.

“These awards are meant to provide Ohio employers with opportunities to benefit from the talents of Ohio’s college and career technical students,” said Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro. “And they’ll provide students with valuable internship or co-op experience.”

The state funding comes from casino-license fees and is specifically for this purpose. Funding was awarded to 10 community colleges and 13 public or private universities and is projected to create up to 3,496 co-op and internship positions.

Undergraduate programs are required to match 100 percent and graduate programs are required to match 150 percent of the awarded grant with private money.

Lead applicants must partner with businesses from these JobsOhio target industries: advanced manufacturing; aerospace/aviation; automotive; biohealth; energy; financial services; food processing; information technology; polymers and business functions such as logistics and research and development.

YSU’s award is to increase work-based learning in Northeast Ohio, Appalachia and the Mahoning Valley in advanced manufacturing, and to provide partial wage reimbursement to employers for new student internships.

Kent State University’s $724,553 award will support up to 200 student interns and improve the intern-tracking system and create an Intern Advisory Board to help improve internship experiences.