Interns Learn Business Basics during Three-Day Online Internship

12/16/2021　Corporate Activities

Our last blog post covered Roland DG’s one-day online internship, and in this follow-up post we take a closer look at the live three-day program that was held from August 18 to 20, 2021. The internship was designed to allow interns to develop skills that may be required for their future work, by providing experience with marketing and planning processes in the form of a competition for planning and launching new products.

Click here for our blog about the one-day online internship

Day 1

The first day kicked off with a lecture and discussions related to constructing business models for planning new lines of business. This gave the interns the chance to carefully examine market segments for which new businesses or products could be developed, based on Roland DG’s strengths and current market conditions.

The lecture in progress.

Day 2

On the second day, the interns split into groups of two or three and began creating plans based on the lecture and discussions of the first day.
The interns had many questions for Roland DG staff and they also assisted each other, demonstrating a keen determination to tackle the tricky topic given to them. Feedback from the interns was positive, with one commenting, “By discussing the topic with the others, we came up with some ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of myself, and it really proved to me the importance of teamwork.”

An online whiteboard was used so all interns could share their ideas in real time.

Some groups found it difficult to make progress, so young members of our Roland DG staff joined their group to help them along. In the end, all the groups came up with solid ideas for their business plans.

Day 3

The actual competition was held on the last day of the program, where each group presented the products they had planned and the specific customer needs they aimed to address. Some of the interns’ unique ideas included a VR pottery system, an AI-powered electric toothbrush, an automated shelf-stocking robot, and a guide drone for the blind. Each group successfully encompassed all the key points related to business models raised during the lectures, and their presentations were very convincing.

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  Group presentation materials.

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Interns giving a presentation.

At the end of the program, interns looked back over what they learned through the three-day internship and provided their thoughts: “The internship was a valuable experience for me, as I learned a lot about cost control and delivery schedules that are essential throughout society,” “When we were struggling with ideas during our group discussion, it was so helpful that Roland DG staff gave us advice based on their own experiences on the job,” and “While it was tough with so many new things to learn, I feel like I gained so much during this valuable three-day program.”

As we witnessed the interns working together and discussing ideas to come up with their business plans, we felt like they were given a great opportunity to gain a better sense of what “working in teams” is actually like. We hope that the internship gave all the participants an experience they can build on during their future endeavors.

A big thank you to all the interns who took part in our internship!