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The Story of Intern U
Chris Burns' continual dedication to his 3C Philosophy, "take care of the customer, take care of the company, and the cash will come", has attributed to his business success and proven track record. At age twenty-four, he founded IDC Partners in 1991 to capitalize on the technology market opportunity and evolved in time to become recognized today as a Philadelphia market leader for business continuity planning services.
Intern U was created from a series of individual discussions between Chris Burns and a few trusted, key clients regarding the validity of IDC Partners new business process management offering to the marketplace. His clients encouraged Chris to consider different packaging strategies for business process management since offshore companies included this type of service with their software development price. Chris pieced together his conversations to conclude the majority of IDC Partners' clients would welcome an alternative solution to rival the offshore outsourcing model in price and quality.
To close this gap, Chris recognized employing college students could not only enable an alternative solution to offshoring but more importantly drive future economic growth to students, universities, and clients alike. Chris, as an adjunct professor at West Chester University teaching an entrepreneurial leadership class, appreciated the energy students can bring to the workplace and in turn the value a quality internship can bring to their education. More specifically, Chris envisioned seasoned professionals working together with student interns as one team providing quality solutions to his clients. With IDC Partners main focus on business continuity, the choice was clear to pursue his innovative business concept and start Intern U.
Today, Intern U is a proven, professional services consulting firm creating business opportunities back onshore for clients and a premier paid internship program for students in Philadelphia. The "U" in the company name has become symbolic to the premiere internship program for "U" the students, "U" the universities, and "U" the companies. All key clients of Intern U with the student intern as the most important component. As one of Intern U's employees recently pointed out to Chris, "You created your dream job by combining your passion for coaching students and building business". Chris responded with a smile, "True, but the really cool part is Intern U can now become a way for students to find their dream job. And that is the most important thing."
