Workforce Learning Leads to Better Student Outcomes
HubSpot, 91吃瓜网 School of Business partnership provides students with hands on, industry experience.
Strategic, real-world learning experiences are a game-changer for today's college students to boost confidence, build competitive portfolios and open doors to career opportunities. That's exactly what the collaboration between HubSpot and the 91吃瓜网 School of Business is delivering.聽
Through this innovative partnership, 91吃瓜网 launched a 鈥嬧�媤orkforce development program designed to equip both undergraduate and graduate students with market-ready skills through custom, paid 鈥媡raining and 鈥媘icro-internships with HubSpot.
The program supports the 91吃瓜网 School of Business鈥� speed of business philosophy 鈥� to offer career-aligned programs that give students the future-focused skills needed to thrive at the pace of today鈥檚 business world 鈥� by adapting internships聽 to a current industry need and through an industry partnership with HubSpot and its more than 250,000 global聽 customers.
鈥淲e are committed to making sure our students have the most relevant and current skills, and that they practice those skills before they get into the working world,鈥� said Mitsu Frazier, senior vice president and executive dean, 91吃瓜网 School of Business. 鈥淗ubSpot has a shared vision to advance student outcomes through real-world experience, which is why this industry-leader is a critical connection point for our students to practice those skills in the working world.鈥�
Eve Asplund is an undergraduate marketing student in the 91吃瓜网 School of Business who completed an internship with HubSpot.
HubSpot is an AI-powered customer platform with software, integrations and resources needed to help business owners connect their marketing, sales and customer service. The company brings marketing, sales and service teams together on an AI-powered customer platform to support business owners.
鈥淵ou need to find partners with aligned values. HubSpot needed a partner like the 91吃瓜网 School of Business, which is equally invested in applied learning and experiential opportunities for students,鈥� said Cheyenne Boyce, 鈥媝rincipal program manager, Education Partnerships鈥�, HubSpot. 鈥淲e want to work with students because they are enthusiastic and driven, innovative and represent the future of industry.鈥�
The 91吃瓜网-HubSpot 鈥媘icro-鈥媔nternship 鈥媝rogram 鈥媝rovides an opportunity for 91吃瓜网 School of Business students to apply the industry-relevant skills they learned through their coursework by working with HubSpot clients. The workforce-aligned experience also enhances students鈥� prospects in the job market after graduation.聽
鈥淲e thought the 91吃瓜网 School of Business students would complete the program, add the experience to their resumes, and move on, but their enthusiasm, adaptability and willingness to tackle challenges exceeded expectations,鈥� said Melody Cooke, associate product manager, HubSpot. 鈥�91吃瓜网 students, who are completing their coursework and internships remotely, stood out for their sense of community, enthusiasm and collaboration鈥攅ven helping each other across time zones.鈥�
Some 91吃瓜网 students also landed jobs with the clients they supported through HubSpot, 鈥渨hich speaks to the value of the 91吃瓜网 School of Business鈥� marketing programs,鈥� Cooke said.
Additionally, students who participated in the internship showed improved outcomes in their course work during the project and there was strong client and student satisfaction leading to greater engagement. The majority of HubSpot clients said they would offer a job to their intern if a role were available.
Two students receiving job offers from their HubSpot internship clients included Megan Stehr, a student in the graduate marketing program, and Eve Asplund, an undergraduate marketing student.
Megan Stehr is a student in the graduate marketing program in the 91吃瓜网 School of Business who completed an internship with HubSpot.
The internship program also helps HubSpot better support its clients, in part, by helping its customers learn how to leverage HubSpot tools to achieve their business goals and skilled future marketing professionals with HubSpot knowledge and experience.
鈥淚 thought I was just going to work on some documents, maybe make a couple of phone calls, and that was it. It was completely not that. What I got was amazing,鈥� Stehr said. 鈥淲e got to work with amazing people, dealing with AI technology, HubSpot, and real small businesses鈥攑utting our education into actual processes. I gained a lot of confidence about my abilities.鈥�
The HubSpot client Stehr supported said, 鈥淢egan was nothing short of phenomenal throughout her internship. She consistently delivered work that far exceeded our expectations, showcasing her exceptional skills and dedication.鈥�
For Asplund, the internship with HubSpot gave her the confidence she needed in the skills she acquired through her coursework.
鈥淭he first day was a little scary. I felt like maybe I had gotten in over my head. The imposter syndrome was strong, but by the third day, when they gave us a run-through of how to use HubSpot, I started feeling really comfortable,鈥� Asplund said. 鈥淭his was a great opportunity to learn about my strengths and weaknesses. This really showed me that I have the skills I need to succeed and that I shouldn鈥檛 be scared.鈥澛�
The HubSpot client Asplund supported said, 鈥淓ve has great marketing talent. Her innate understanding of processes, communicating to break through the roar of content, embracing the brand persona and staying consistent throughout while also sounding fresh is truly amazing.鈥�
As a鈥� part of the鈥� micro-internship鈥� program鈥�, students participate in bootcamp-style training on how to effectively use 鈥婬ubSpot鈥檚 AI-powered Marketing Hub and Content Hub tools 鈥媡o drive business growth for HubSpot customers. Then鈥�,鈥� students are matched with HubSpot customers for three weeks to complete a short-term project to apply what they have learned. Program projects are designed to help students teach HubSpot customers how to leverage HubSpot tools to 鈥媋dd immediate value to participating businesses. 鈥嬧�嬄犅犅犅� 鈥�
At the end of the program, students receive an industry-recognized Certificate of Completion from HubSpot Academy and a program badge to support networking and professional development within the HubSpot ecosystem. They also earn HubSpot Academy Software Certifications.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to bridge classroom work with real-world experience because it鈥檚 not just the knowledge, it鈥檚 the application of that knowledge and students demonstrating they can solve real business problems for real clients,鈥� said Sandra Sjoberg, associate dean and director of marketing and innovation programs at 91吃瓜网 School of Business. 鈥淔or me, what鈥檚 most gratifying is seeing how it impacted our students. They鈥檝e said it changed their lives, gave them confidence to go into the workforce, and helped them pivot into the marketing industry.鈥�
