This April, medical device startup Endogenex secured a new round of funding to further their work in developing therapies for GI and metabolic diseases processes. One of their top priorities moving forward is talent acquisition.
“We want to build a pipeline of talent,” explained Peter Sorensen, Controller of Endogenex. “We’ve had quite a few interns come through here and we’ve hired a couple of them full-time. The second they graduate, they have a job lined up for them. And it’s great for us because we know what they can do ahead of time. It goes both ways.”
Endogenex recently started relying on the SciTech Internship Program, a state-funded student and small business resource, to hire their summer talent. It’s there where they found Biomedical Engineering Major Justin Grudem and welcomed him to the team as a R&D Engineering Intern.
A prototype for success
As Grudem’s first internship, he came at the opportunity with a goal in mind: to get a feel for the medical device industry before choosing it for his future career. To help him do just that, Endogenex put Grudem front and center of the whole operation, helping their engineering team as they develop a new prototype.
Grudem was also responsible for ordering parts for future builds as well. His favorite aspect of the job, he said, was working in production, “It’s really cool to see how you can take a bunch of small pieces like that and make it into something that actually has a very large effect in the medical device field.”
Taking pride in his work, Grudem proved to his team and himself that he was up for the challenge and could pull his weight as a contributing member of the group.
“Justin’s taken everything in stride and done really well,” Sorensen said proudly. “We trust him a lot, just like he was a full-time employee.”
“It feels good to hold my own and know that I’m bringing something to the company,” Grudem agreed.
The right track
With his internship now concluded, Grudem found the confirmation he was looking for. The medical device industry is where he wants to be.
“I’m pretty grateful for the opportunity to see the whole medical device process,” Grudem said. “Working with knowledgeable and skilled engineers, I’ve learned that I still have a ways to go before I’m at that level, and I think college and having this internship experience will definitely help excel that.”
Get involved
Looking to build your small business workforce? Apply now and start planning your internship experience today.
College STEM majors looking to get involved can enroll here, while returning SciTech students can send their current transcript to scitechmn@mntech.org to reactivate their account.