Description

Corporate Contacts, Business Today's flagship internship program, is key to BT's finances and operations. Traditionally an internship program that takes undergraduates on road trips across the country to pitch to CEO's for sponsorship and participation, this summer's program was transitioned into a virtual format. Vignesh Panchanatham, this year's Director of Corporate Contacts, speaks to the frustrations he faced and takeaways he learned in this episode of Inside BT. Inside BT is a series that was launched to reflect on how Business Today, a nonprofit that's entirely run by undergraduates, has adapted to the new digital normal created by COVID.

Time Stamps

0:00 - 1:10: Vignesh discusses his BT background, from serving as a staffer to becoming Director of Corporate Contacts
1:10 - 2:15: Getting used to the role in November and selecting the Corporate Contacts team
2:15 - 3:15: Prioritizing fundraising and the team's internship experience
3:15 - 4:14: Initial challenges before COVID - selecting partners, interviewing candidates
4:14 - 5:19: Tough decisions in adapting Corporate Contacts to digital
5:19 - 6:56: The initial structuring of a digital internship
6:56 - 8:24: How we rebuilt the internship as an industry-based model as opposed to geography-based model
8:24 - 9:50: Communication through a remote internship and responding to interns' concerns
9:50 - 11:03: Redeploying training during work week for interns
11:03 - 13:20: Unexpected challenges from building sales assets (the CC booklet)
13:20 - 14:09: Reflecting on success from more responsive high-quality executives
14:09 - 15:26: Self-reflection on improvements for next year such as building community
15:26 - 17:02: In retrospect, what advice would you provide to yourself on leadership and adaptation to challenge?
17:02 - 18:00: Lessons learned for student leaders who facing a significant change from COVID