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Transformative Talent Interns: Employer Information

Transformative Talent Internships offer current graduate students an opportunity to further develop valuable professional and transferrable skills through hands-on experience collaborating with employment partners. Guided by mentorships and involved in meaningful skills-based projects and initiatives, interns play an active role in supporting day-to-day operations while broadening their professional networks and exploring future career pathways.

Benefits of hiring a Transformative Talent Intern

  • Increase capacity
  • "Side-of-the-desk" project completed
  • Test a new role
  • Access advanced technical skills
  • Major projects
  • Support temporary absences/leaves
  • Build a talent pipeline
  • Access skills absent from your team
  • Support the text generation of talent
  • Add new technology
  • Support expansions
  • Time sensitive project starts

Video testimonial

How UCalgary Interns Helped EverLine Coatings Streamline a 125-Location Franchise

Watch graduate student testimonials on YouTube

Choose your organization type

The Faculty of Graduate Studies can help you find your intern through our Transformative Talent Internship (TTI) program. TTI works with businesses, departments and organizations of all sizes. Explore the options below to find what is most relevant to your needs.

TTI internship requirements:

  • TTI starts at 210 hours
  • Part- or full-time
  • Up to 8 months full-time, 12 months part-time
  • Employer paid (to at least the provincial minimum wage)
Questions? Contact gradintern@ucalgary.ca

TTI Non-Profit internship requirements:

  • Part-time, project-based
  • 16-week, 320 hours
  • Non-profit provides $3,000 to pay student; TTI pays $5,000 to student
Questions? Contact gradintern@ucalgary.ca

TTI Start-up internship requirements:

  • Part-time, project-based
  • 16-week, 320 hours
  • Start-up provides $3,000 to pay student; TTI pays $5,000 to student
Questions? Contact gradintern@ucalgary.ca

TTI Alumni Built Business internship requirements:

  • Must be a member of the UCalgary Alumni Built Business Directory
  • Part-time
  • Minimum 210 hours (2.5 months), maximum 640 hours (8 months)
  • Employer pays $15/hour (Alberta minimum wage); TTI pays $10/hour
Questions? Contact gradintern@ucalgary.ca

TTI On-campus internship requirements:

  • Hiring manager is UCalgary faculty or staff
  • Skills-based role is contributing to the day-to-day operations of the university
  • Part-time, non-academic, short-term projects
  • Minimum 100 hours, up to 209 hours
  • Minimum of 5 weeks, up to 8 months
  • Not tied to research, grants for Mitacs funding
  • Does not contribute to a graduate student's thesis or capstone project
  • Hired into an hourly AUPE Student Employee classification using the Template Based Hire process at a SPA 1 (minimum $26/hour) or Tech 1 band (minimum $27.12/hour)
  • Faculty of Graduate Studies will provide a reimbursement through journal transfer at the conclusion of the internship for $13/hour

Please note that FGS cannot accept academic related positions that would fall into the GSA Collective Agreement for GAT, GANT or GAR. More information about hiring Graduate Assistants can be found on the website.

Questions? Contact gradintern@ucalgary.ca

TTI position eligibility

Graduate Level Projects

Graduate Level Projects

Meaningful work experience using and developing graduate students’ advanced research and professional skills.

Non-academic

Non-academic

Not directly tied to a graduate student's academic thesis, capstone project or Mitacs.

Short-term

Short-term

With TTI On-Campus starting at 100 hours and regular TTIs starting at 210 hours, this provides opportunities to complete short-term projects when hiring regular staff would be challenging.

Employment Partner will provide

Supervision and mentorship

Employers will oversee the intern's work while providing ongoing mentorship and supervision. This support will include both formal and informal conversations designed to foster skill development, enhance understanding of professional workplace environments, build awareness or organizational systems and structures, and support career development.

Meaningful opportunity/project

Interns will work on a meaningful project or task identified by the employer. Mentors will provide guidance and oversight throughout the internship, including explaining relevant processes and procedures, introducing the intern to team members and key stakeholders across the organization, and offering feedback and support as the project or task progresses.

Mentoring

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to WIL. Find tools and resources to help you create meaningful, inclusive and sustainable work-integrated learning opportunities for students, regardless of your sector or the size of your organization.

Create quality WIL

Funding

Employers can offset labour costs by taking advantage of subsidies for students and recent graduates. Job opportunities with companies can help students build their experience and enhance their learning.

Explore options

Why work-integrated learning?

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a tried and tested way to prepare the next generation of workers for the world of work and build a more resilient, inclusive, and future-proof economy.

Explore WIL

ROI toolkit

Making the business case for WIL means being able to calculate your return on investment (ROI). Explore how you calculate your ROI and find the financial supports available to you.

Invest in WIL

Graduate student internship examples

  • Quality Assurance Analyst
  • Data Collection and Analysis
  • Program Assessment and Evaluation
  • Special Projects Development and Coordination
  • Software Development
  • Business Intelligence
  • Risk Management Processes and Procedures
  • Needs Assessments and Project Proposals
  • Information Management
  • Communications and Outreach Strategies
  • Policy Analysis and Development
  • Collaboration with External Partners
  • Event Preparation and Coordination
  • Systems and Program Training
  • Financial Management and Budgeting
  • Sustainability Planning