Hybrid. Students must be prepared to attend in-person the Spring 2025 prep course at JMU. Students must be prepared to be on site at Ellucian at least two days a week during the summer internship in Reston, VA. 

GPA: min. 3.0

Class year: Current sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students

US Work Authorization: International students must have legal work authorization for the period of the internship (CPT, OPT, or any other kind of work permit).  

computer science, business, humanities, strong focus on AI, statistics, UX/UI, design thinking, cognitive psychology, marketing, communication, English, ethics, philosophy, law, graphic design, data science 

• Current JMU sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students
• Preferred areas of study: computer science, business, humanities, strong focus on AI, statistics, UX/UI, design thinking, cognitive psychology, marketing, communication, English, ethics, philosophy, law, graphic design, data science 
• Students who will embrace belonging to a team, are eager to learn how to problem-solve using design thinking, wish to strengthen their communication and critical thinking skills. 

1. JMU X-Labs Prep Course – Spring ’25

Accepted students will enroll in an in-person, 3-credit X-Labs design-thinking prep class in Spring 2025 on Thursdays, 3:55pm-6:25pm. This immersive course, developed in collaboration with Ellucian, offers students the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a multidisciplinary software development team. Participants will work alongside software developers, AI/ML specialists, UX designers, product managers, and ethicists to create innovative solutions to real-world challenges. The cohort will present their solutions to the problem at X-Labs’ annual Innovation Summit on May 1, 2025. 

2. Summer Internship at Ellucian – May 19, 2025 – August 8, 2025

The program culminates in a full-time, 12-week paid summer internship at Ellucian's Reston, VA office, providing students with invaluable industry exposure and professional development opportunities. Students will be responsible for creating a live product, defined by Ellucian, and pitching it to senior leadership at the end of the internship. $35/hour, 40hrs/week 

The Cohort Profile

Seeking 10 students total, to serve the following roles: 

Product Manager (2)  

Areas of study: computer science, business, humanities, marketing, communication, English 

Their role on the project: 

• Setting product vision
• Defining initial business case
• Pitch deck to achieve funding / approval
• Writing requirements for MVP
• Storytelling
• Scrum Team leadership 

Developers (5)  

Areas of study: computer science, strong focus on AI, statistics, humanities 

Their role on the project: 

• Creating initial architecture
• AI model development
• Building the MVP per requirements
• Bug fixing and refinement 

(2 back end, 1 front-end, 2 AI/ML) 

Designers (2)  

Areas of study: UX/UI, graphic design, design thinking, cognitive psychology  

Their role on the project: 

• Double diamond ideation, competitive analysis
• Final Figma prototype
• User testing & analysis
• Interaction details for project requirements 

Ethicist (1)  

Areas of study: ethics, philosophy, law 

Their role on the project: 

• Write the project’s ethics & data use standards
• Research existing legal or regulatory implications for the project
• Document the project’s risk assessment 

Students going through the JMU X-Labs Reimagined Internship will gain the following skills and experience, which apply to any career: 

• industry exposure
• professional development
• problem solving
• communication across and knowledge of multiple disciplines
• teaming and collaborating
• critical thinking
• leadership 

The X-Labs Reimagined Internship prep course is a project-and team-based cross-disciplinary course in which students who have been accepted will work as a team to address a challenge supplied by Ellucian. Students will develop the skills and habits of mind along with problem-solving strategies that allow them to develop a minimum viable solution to the challenge. Students can expect to apply learned interviewing skills to collectively generate 100 conversations through the semester, to ideate and then evaluate potential solutions, and create and test prototypes of their solutions. These skills parallel qualitative and quantitative research methods along with creativity and collaboration.  By the end of the class, students will generate a portfolio of information regarding their solution to be delivered to Ellucian, participate in the Innovation Summit, and move to the internship program at Ellucian in Reston, VA from May 19-Aug. 8. Students are expected to be willing to do the sometimes difficult but always rewarding work of collaborating by participating in and outside of class (e.g. team meetings outside class hours) and prioritize this experience.

NOTE: Submitting an application means you are available for both the in-person Spring ’25 JMU X-Labs prep course and the in-person summer internship at Ellucian in Reston, VA.

• Submit a max 2-page cover letter that addresses the following prompts:
  • Specify which of the roles in the cohort profile your experience and education have best prepared you for. Explain how. 
  • What is it about this reimagined internship experience that caught your eye? Explain. 
  • What interests you about Ellucian and their mission? 
• • Additional materials may be requested. 
• Submit a max 2-page resume with three references and their contact information. If possible, include at least one reference that has observed you outside of the classroom, such as in a work or volunteer environment. If you have taken an X-Labs course, please include as a reference one of the instructors. 
• Additional materials may be requested.

Contact Connie Frigo, Executive Director, X-Labs at frigocm@jmu.edu.