Student-Alumni Relations
Alum frequently return to campus to give talks and participate in panels, sharing lessons learned from their own experiences as students and professionals. They volunteer their time, host interns, collaborate in applied research projects, and overall help to ground academic learning through a professional lens.
Interested in getting more involved with the DUSP community or connect directly to current students? Feel free to reach out to Sue Delaney, DUSPConnect’s Administrative Assistant, at sld@mit.edu.
Ways to Engage
Informational Interviews
DUSP and other MIT alumni/ae can be enormously helpful as you chart your course while at DUSP and beyond. Students and graduates alike are encouraged to use the alumni networking platforms to reach out to each other for advice, mentorship, and professional contacts. Informational interviews can be an especially useful tool for learning from the first hand experiences of others and investigating career options.
DUSP graduates are encouraged to make themselves available by maintaining updated profile and contact information on the MIT Alumni Directory, participating in the MITAA Advisor Hub and joining other community networks.
Internships and Theses
Even if your organization does not have a regular internship program, alumni are encouraged to consider hosting a MIT intern—either full-time during the summer (June-August) or winter (January) breaks, or part-time during the fall or spring semesters—or collaborating with students on applied client-linked thesis projects.
Working with current students can be a great way to grow and expand the capacity of your organization, while allowing students to gain professional experience and apply their skills to real-world problems. Depending on the nature, timing, and location of the work, MIT students often have access to alternative or complementary sources of funding and sponsorship, taking some of the burden off of the host organization.
Micro-internship Program
The Micro-internship Program connects current students with alumni in their workplaces around the world during MIT’s four-week Independent Activities Period (IAP). Students may collaborate on research, laboratory work, data analysis, software development, or other projects that will provide a learning opportunity while meeting a workplace need.
Alumni can learn more about hosting an intern here.