What five employers brought, and what they received.
Each program ran on the network Future Bench is built on. Employers received security builds, qualified prospects, engineering concepts, or hires from people whose work they had already seen.
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Five case studies. What each employer brought, and what it received.
Grant Thornton China
Business development research across Shanghai and Beijing, and a study of how AI could enter forensic advisory services.
30+qualified prospects handed to the GT team See what GT brought and received Cyber security internshipCisco
Students worked in a Cyber Defence Analyst role, building and hardening virtual environments with security tools and policies.
56virtual-machine designs for internal reuse See what Cisco brought and received Open innovation challengeStanley Black & Decker Suzhou
Two live engineering problems, logistics and dust extraction, run over six weeks as investigation, design sprint and showcase.
2engineering concepts delivered See what SBD brought and received Internal internship-to-hire pipeline, through university partnersExcelerate
Standout interns were evaluated, interviewed and hired directly into Excelerate. Employees who entered through these opportunities are still with the team after more than two years.
2+ yearscurrent tenure of employees hired through opportunitiesSee what Excelerate brought and receivedPhased internship-to-hire engagementPepagora
Students worked on business questions across research, digital marketing, strategy and user journeys. An initial opportunity led into a limited paid internship, with hires made during the paid phase.
2 phasesinitial opportunity, then paid internshipSee what Pepagora brought and received
Grant Thornton China
Two virtual internships, supported by Rochester Institute of Technology
What GT brought
A recorded welcome, reference material on forensic procedure and regulation, two live commercial questions, and a GT representative on the closing panel.
What students did
Business Development teams researched organisations in Shanghai and Beijing and assessed fit for GT's advisory services, in international pods of up to eleven. Forensic Advisory teams assessed how AI could enter GT's forensic services and delivered a three-service shortlist with proposal, compliance, and implementation reports.
What GT received
Thirty or more qualified prospects handed to the GT team. Seventy-five or more high performers recommended into its pipeline. Reach into universities GT does not recruit from. Student posts and videos tagging GT and RIT.
Cisco
Cyber Security Virtual Internship, delivered with Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
What Cisco brought
Sponsorship and a focus on its security product line, to build workforce capability.
What students did
In a Cyber Defence Analyst role, students built and hardened virtual environments with security tools and policies. Participation was deepest in India, Nigeria, and the United States, with completers from Turkey, Tunisia, Spain, and Egypt.
What Cisco received
Fifty-six virtual-machine designs for internal reuse. 287 students completed the program and were evaluated on the environments they built. Public certificates, posts, and video reflections from completers.
Stanley Black & Decker Suzhou
Open innovation challenge, two engineering tracks
What SBD brought
Two live operational problems, judging criteria agreed up front, and an executive audience for the showcase.
What students did
Track one: intelligent logistics for China operations. Track two: dust extraction for the combi hammer, run over six weeks as investigation, design sprint, and showcase, with checkpoints, feedback rounds, and expert Q&A.
What SBD received
A CAD-modelled dust-extraction concept and a five-layer logistics design. Only reviewed work reached executives. Performance figures in the concepts are participant-modelled and labelled as such.
Excelerate
Internal internships through university partners
What Excelerate brought
Its own internships, university partnerships and hiring needs. Excelerate wanted to identify standout interns and bring strong performers into the team.
What students did
Students took part in Excelerate's internships through university partners. Their work gave the team a basis for identifying standout performers, who were then interviewed for roles in the company.
What Excelerate received
Direct hires from its internship pool. Employees who first joined through these opportunities are still working with Excelerate after more than two years. The internship pipeline continues to connect student work with hiring decisions.
Download the Excelerate case study
Pepagora
A student opportunity followed by a paid internship
What Pepagora brought
Practical business questions across research, digital marketing, strategy, user journeys and analysis. Pepagora supplied the brief; Excelerate turned it into structured student opportunities with weekly deliverables.
What students did
Students researched, analysed and developed recommendations against the brief. Their work was reviewed for execution quality, business understanding, analytical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration and timely completion. A limited paid phase then brought interns into direct, hands-on work with the Pepagora team.
What Pepagora received
Hires from the paid internship phase, after working directly with the interns. Project deliverables supported performance evaluation and progression through the internship; they were not primarily operational outputs used by Pepagora.
Download the Pepagora case study
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