Once receiving an offer to participate in the Digital Summer Clinic internship program offered by the Center for Digital Engagement at Eastern Michigan University 5 weeks ago, I remember sitting at my living table wondering which start-up I thought would be a good fit for me. I received an email in the coming days that said I was paired up with a start-up called APT Solar Solutions, an alternative off-grid solar-charged solutions company creating products and services for “smart city” applications, and an intern partner named Anna Winthrow! At the time I couldn’t have realized the impact APTSS or the DSC would have on my life.
After Anna and I's first meeting, I think we both felt that this summer was going to be not just informative and practical in working with a start-up company, but a fun opportunity for us to grow a new friendship in the midst of it. We have been a great team from the jump, from organizing our project scope, creating a GANTT Chart that lays out each week's tasks, and even making sure to plan all of our meetings ahead of time based on our schedules for the summer all before our first cohort meeting which has all been so helpful in the long run.
With that being said, here's what I've been up to the last 4 weeks:
Week 1 (June 2 - June 8): Initial Meetings and Project Planning
June 3: My internship began with an initial meeting with Anna and the President/Chief Business Development Officer of APTSS, Steve Annear. We discussed the project overview and expectations, and Steve shared their most current pitch deck to give us a clearer understanding of our tasks.
June 10: Anna and I created a project scope and a detailed Gantt Chart to outline our tasks for the summer and set up weekly meetings with APTSS. Later in the day, I added the Gantt Chart and tasks to our timesheet and refined it.
Week 2 and 3(June 9 - June 22): Conducting Market Research
June 13: I looked more into the materials Steve sent over, conducting my initial user research on the US solar lighting market in the Southwest and Western regions of the country. It was a day of absorbing information and laying the groundwork for our future research.
June 14: Continuing my research, I explored the solar lighting markets in the West and Southwest.
June 17: Anna and I compared our findings and kickstarted the creation of a slideshow presentation. I then finished my portions for our meeting the next day and started compiling a distributor list for the Midwest, West, and Southwest regions.
June 18: Researched and created a list of distributors in the Western Interconnection and looked into US solar policies. This research was critical for our slideshow which we presented later in the day. During the meeting, we refined our plan for the upcoming week and updated our Gantt chart accordingly.
June 19: My focus was on researching grant and incentive opportunities in the Western Interconnection.
Week 4 (June 23 - June 29): Refining Findings
June 24: Met with Anna to discuss our distributor research and explore strategies for market entry. We debated whether to partner with a bigger company or sell the rights. We also updated the Gantt chart and made adjustments based on our extended market research.
June 25: During our weekly meeting, we reviewed the updated slideshow and discussed tasks for the following week. I also cleaned up our presentation for the Digital Summer Clinic cohort meeting we had later that night.
June 26: My market research continued as I explored various reports on solar technology and future market prospects. I even interacted with an AI chatbot on a solar solutions website to better understand the distributor market landscape.
June 28: I worked on iterations for my portfolio website's backend code, which tragically had to be restarted from a template found on Github. I integrated my blog into the portfolio, researched, and wrote a blog post and a LinkedIn post. Additionally, I created a list of LinkedIn connections to engage with and analyzed engagement strategies for future posts. By the end of the day, I connected Google Analytics to my portfolio and blog to track and enhance my outreach.
These initial weeks were a combination of strategic planning, intense market research, and setting up my digital presence on LinkedIn and Blogger, according to the DSC internship requirements. I’m excited about the opportunities ahead and eager to continue making progress. Stay tuned for more updates on my internship experiences and insights in digital marketing!
XO,
MARLENARIELLEE
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