The Northwest Arkansas BioDesign Sprints program is hiring interns for the summer to help conduct customer discovery and market research. 

The internship is open to undergraduate and graduate students and will run from May 15 to Aug. 4. The program pays $16 an hour. Applications close May 1.  

Interns will receive training in how to conduct qualitative research on early prototypes to better understand market needs. They will work in small teams to conduct customer discovery and market research.  

Claire Dildy, a senior in the College of Engineering and fall 2022 BioDesign intern, said the experience was "eye-opening to opportunities in healthcare innovation." 

"This internship has exposed me to meetings with healthcare providers and hospital visits to see procedures and the equipment in use," she said. "It has also taught me more about the patent process."

She added that the experience reinforced her interest in healthcare technology and encouraged her to keep innovating to improve patient experiences. 

Funded by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, BioDesign is a program within the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation that emerged from a partnership between the university's Department of Biomedical Engineering, HealthTech Arkansas and four major regional healthcare systems. 

Since its inception last fall, BioDesign interns have participated in five design sprints focused on brainstorming and designing medical devices and healthcare solutions. Interdisciplinary student teams were paired with doctors from hospitals and clinics in Northwest Arkansas to offer innovations to real-world problems.   

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.