Sample text for invitation to become a partner:
“Even though we are just finishing up this semester I am already geared up and planning for the next one which means identifying possible partners for our Computer Science Field Project. As I mentioned, in addition to my Software Engineering and Software Entrepreneurship courses at Brandeis I’ve been running the Field Project for the last couple of years. We’ve worked with companies such as Adobe, Tibco, Demandware and the City of Boston as well. I am now recruiting 3 new partners for the coming semester and I thought of you and Fidelity.
The concept is that we place a team of 3-6 of our top Computer Science students with a company to do a project with and for them. I call it “Research and/or Development” because each project is quite different and may land on different places on the spectrum. Typical projects are things that have been the ‘glint in the eye’ of the partner, a project that if only we had time we ought to try, that kind of thing. These are not internships, because we want to make sure the students have a growth and learning experience while providing the partner some real value.
The program is designed to have very low impact on the partner company. We (Brandeis) provide the students, they work on campus, we provide a faculty member to act as their day to day supervisor. The partner (you) provides a “point of contact” who acts like a client, giving their objectives and requirements at the start, and then be part of 3 progress meetings and a final on-site final results presentation. Other than those meetings, the time commitment is for an occasional email or skype call. You can find a more comprehensive FAQ here: http://bit.ly/cosifieldproject Each time we run it we get more experience and refine the model.
With that, do you think you or a colleague might be excited to partner with Brandeis on this? I can tell you more if you have questions or want more details. Thanks for considering it!”