Lakehead University partners with OpenText to offer paid internships for Indigenous students

Up to 25 Indigenous students enrolled at Lakehead University will have an opportunity for hands-on learning next summer, thanks to a new partnership between the school and information management company OpenText.

The partnership will provide paid internships for Indigenous students, which will run from May to August 2022.

"It's just an amazing opportunity for our students, and it completely aligns with our own strategic priorities, which is developing future leaders," said Lakehead president and vice-chancellor Moira McPherson. "It's just such an important partnership and will absolutely help them realize their dreams and potential."

Participating students will have opportunities to work in a number of areas within OpenText, including software engineering, human resources, marketing, and finance. Mentorships, as well as career and financial planning sessions, will also be part of the program.

Denise Baxter, Lakehead's vice-provost of Indigenous initiatives, said the partnership came together quickly after the company approached the university in June.

She said recruitment is beginning soon, with information sessions scheduled for Lakehead's Thunder Bay, Barrie, and Orillia campuses on Wednesday, which will give students a sense of what the internships will involve.

"We will be working with open texters, as they refer to themselves, in order to talk about different aspects of the employment opportunities at OpenText, the culture of OpenText," Baxter said. "They have over 15,000 employees in 34 countries around the world, so it will give students an opportunity to work around the world with people that would be potentially mentoring them, or they might be members of teams."

Baxter said OpenText will also provide students all technology needed for the internship.

McPherson said she hopes the partnership will continue to grow.

"We think there's so many opportunities to help us support and advance our own strategic priorities around teaching, learning and research," she said. "I don't want to guess yet what those those future collaborations will look like, but I'm really encouraged about this partnership, and what it offers our students and our community."