September 25, 2025 — “If you’re an IACMI member and you’re not taking advantage of the internship program, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity.” That’s Zaher Jabr Managing Director, Forward Engineering North America, who has already employed four IACMI interns in their Detroit office since June 2025. They are part of the new cohort of IACMI Interns 2.0, who are ready to chart their own success.
Since first launched in 2016, IACMI’s internship program has employed over 100 college students in the composites industry, and 100% of those got job offers or acceptance into graduate school. Averaging 10 weeks and embedded in industry or academia, these jobs give students a chance to explore a wide range of roles.
“It gave me a broader aspect of manufacturing,” said Mahnoor Zubair, an aerospace engineering student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who interned at Vitriform3D this summer. “It doesn’t matter what you started at your college. It’s ok to pivot.”
“It really gives you the opportunity to narrow down what you’re interested in,” added Endeavor Composites’ intern Julia Flynn. “There’s things I’ve seen in my internship that maybe I’m not as interested or as passionate about, but then other things I’ve worked on that I realized I like being hands-on with this.”
Internships are considered a win-win-win for students, IACMI member companies, and the composites industry. With renewed funding from the Department of Energy and a scaling cost-share model with members, IACMI screens candidates and serves as a matchmaker.
“I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the students who’ve come through the program,” said Alex Stiles, CEO of Vitriform3D. “Small businesses like mine can get 80% covered by federal funds. Having access to an intern who is already qualified from the engineering programs they’re involved in at a low cost, it was a no-brainer.”
Since January, IACMI has placed 20 internships over three sessions. They’ve spanned four states and have ranged from defense research to sustainability to sporting goods. Aidan Fickel interned with Revolin Sports, which designs pickleball paddles. He was involved in developing a product from ideation to product launch—one that isn’t only high-performing but also marketable and scalable.
Aidan shared, “By having this internship, I determined that the world of composites and design is what I want to focus on. I love the complexity of composite design and how you can achieve different properties based on a variety of different factors, allowing you to optimize a product for weight, strength, and performance. I also feel confident in my problem-solving and creativity, which I didn’t have before. I feel I can approach problems from many different angles.”
Some employers are so pleased with their interns’ contributions that they either extend their internship or hire them full-time. For instance, Elizabeth Donoghue will continue her data analysis work for the Blade Repair Academy (BRA) remotely this fall, while she finishes her senior year at Auburn University.
BRA’s Zachary Cunningham said, “The IACMI internship program has been a huge benefit for us because we’re a very small, organic startup. Having access to skills like Elizabeth’s at a high level has been indispensable for us.”
CRG Defense, formerly Cornerstone Research Group, has employed seven rising all-stars in composites research, and has already offered one of them, Karr Stump, a full-time position when he graduates in December.
“All the interns at Cornerstone are classed as research associate co-ops, which opens us up to a lot of different possibilities,” Karr explained. “Every day I get to work on at least two projects, which is something I’ve really enjoyed in my work.”
Andrew Maxey, CEO of Vartega, has seen the long-term benefits of investing in workforce early. Vartega hired Kylie Van Aken as a 1.0 Intern in 2019. Five years later, Kylie is now Quality Manager for Vartega and helped mentor 2.0 Intern Taylir Nagel this summer. It went so well, that Taylir starts a new position there October 1.
“Honestly the best part about Vartega is that it’s really small, and there are all these different tasks,” said Taylir. “I get to do a variety of things and see the impact that it’s making.”
Beyond individual job experience, perhaps the most important aspect of being an IACMI intern is that they connect as a group and build lasting relationships. After meeting each other in person at the 2025 IACMI Members Meeting in Ohio, they connected virtually each week to hear advice from former interns and employers or work on soft skills like speaking tips or resume builders. Though they’re meant to be short-term opportunities, internships are not designed to be one-and-done jobs.
Elizabeth put it this way: “Obviously we make connections that are important now, but we really are the next generation of the industry. I mean we’re all going to end up in different places, so, it’s really building that network of the future of the composites world and manufacturing and building that early for our generation.”
Catch up on what some 1.0 Interns are doing now HERE and find out how you could be the next 2.0 Intern or member host HERE.