UNM Rainforest Innovations, the technology-transfer and economic development organization for the University of New Mexico (UNM), has a student internship program that teaches UNM students about university technology transfer and the intersection of business, science, and law. Currently, the student internship program is comprised of a student office assistant, accounting intern, student intellectual property & disclosures assistants, and several innovation interns.
Our featured intern this month is Nicole Nimeh and she currently serves as an Innovation Student Intern. Nicole is currently working towards a major in civil engineering with a minor in community and regional planning. “My plan after graduation is to get my master’s in sustainable engineering and work in creating more efficient urban infrastructure whether that be public transportation or green buildings.”
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, her family is originally from Syria. “I speak Arabic and love going back to see my family and home… I am a first-generation immigrant, so education is highly valued in my family. My mom always pushed for me to take advantage of the access to education that I was given. This education is an opportunity that not everyone gets, and I should always feel immense gratitude for all the doors that opportunities like this internship can open for me in my future career.”
As an Innovation Student Intern, Nicole is involved in lots of different projects supporting university technology transfer. “Some of my responsibilities include writing non-confidential summaries, private novelty searches, and market analysis for the technologies I am working on.”
“I spend so much time on campus, but I never knew about all the different research and technologies that are being developed at UNM. My favorite part about UNMRI is reading about all the different technologies and discoveries that are happening at UNM and the different start-ups in Albuquerque.”
When asked about the most valuable thing she has learned so far, she said: “The most valuable thing that I have learned at UNMRI is you should always follow through on an idea. The main part of my job is reading about all the ideas that people followed up on and seeing them unfold into something bigger and tangible is awesome.”