The MSSGC Workforce Development (WFD) Intern Program will provide ten-week internships for undergraduate/graduate students at aerospace-related companies located both at Stennis Space Center (SSC) and at other locations around the State. The student interns will be competitively selected by the companies involved from the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium’s eight affiliate universities. The interns will work at a partner facility under the direction of a mentor on a current project of interest to that partner. This experience provides a four-fold benefit: to the students, giving them practical work experience in an aerospace-related field; to their Universities, providing the students’ home departments with an industrial evaluation of their students’ skills; to the Mississippi companies, providing them with access to potential full-time employees from within the State; and to the State, enhancing its economic base by strengthening its aerospace industry. Students return to their schools with expanded technical abilities and increased confidence in their abilities, as well as with a greater understanding of the communication and interpersonal skills required for success in today’s aerospace–related industries.

The MSSGC WFD Community College Faculty Fellowship Program will provide an eight-week summer fellowship at either Stennis or Kennedy Space Center. This program gives three community college faculty in the applied science technical area the opportunity to work in a NASA propulsion testing area, working with test stand technicians, learning the skills needed for graduates of their programs to work successfully with NASA. The faculty can then bring the skills they learned back to their classrooms, enhancing the technical competence of their students and incorporating other critical topics such as safety and team-building, which they experienced first hand.