The EDI3 Program
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigenization Internship (EDI3) Program
Offered by the Career Advancement Centre, Smith's EDI3 Program is a career support that enables students from equity-deserving groups to access meaningful work experiences, build social capital, and develop key employability skills.
What is EDI3?
This program assists equity-deserving students in finding internship opportunities for the upcoming summer, and connects them with dedicated mentors and professional development opportunities. This program is available to first, second, or third year Commerce students who are members of one (or more) of the following groups: Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+, women, first-generation, students with financial need, and students with disabilities.
Why EDI3?
Data shows that students who secure meaningful work experiences in their first few years of higher education have significantly greater long-term career outcomes (such as faster progression to management, higher compensation, etc.) than students who do not. Equity-deserving students often face barriers to accessing these meaningful work experiences, which can put them at a disadvantage and affect their career trajectories.
The EDI3 program supports students and helps remove these barriers by connecting them with meaningful work experiences early in their academic careers, leaving a lasting impact on their future successes.
“I am very excited about our new Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization Internship program – an initiative that is very near and dear to my heart. While Smith’s Career Advancement Centre provides robust support to any employment-seeking student, many undergraduate students find summer employment through their own networks—networks to which equity-deserving students don’t always have access. EDI3 helps create opportunities for these students to build their own networks.”
Dean of Smith School of Business
How it Works for EDI3 Students
Students who opt-in for the EDI3 Program will have access to the following supports:
Support securing summer internships
Students access a job board populated with summer (May – August) internship postings seeking candidates belonging to equity-deserving groups. Ahead of accessing the job board, students will have received a resume review and interview preparation coaching.
Mentorship opportunities
Students are matched with an appropriate Smith alumni mentor based on their career interests. The mentoring relationship focuses on career advice, sharing lived experiences, and support building a professional network.
Professional development events
A speaker series and pre-internship orientation session are delivered to support the development of career skills and how they apply to the workplace.
Get Involved
Employers
Submit a summer internship job posting to our job board for EDI3 student participants. Paid internships should be four months in duration, beginning in May and ending in August.
Mentors
Share career advice and lived experiences with an EDI3 student participant, and support the building of their professional network. Alumni mentors and mentees will meet monthly between March and August.
Once registered you will receive an email with information about next steps. For any further questions about the program, please contact the Experiential Learning Team.
Register Your Interest
Registration is currently only open to employers. Mentor registration will reopen in November.